Turnabout Butterfly
by grisabele
Summary: REVISED. Just weeks before his last trial, Phoenix is called to defend an opera singer. There's just two little problems: A theatre full of people saw her do it...and the prosecutor seems to have it in for her.
1. This is Tosca's Kiss!

**TURNABOUT BUTTERFLY**

**Mere weeks before his last trial, Phoenix is called to defend a famous opera singer. There's just one problem: a theatre full of people saw her commit the murder. **

_**A/N: FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR READING. SECOND OF ALL, THIS STORY IS BASED ON AN INCIDENT INVOLVING A GERMAN ACTOR. GOOGLE DANIEL HOEVELS. I'm revising this story. I'm hoping to get Edgey more in-character (now that I've played AAI and saw that he couldn't possibly have been as involved with this case as he had been in the previous version), and...I wanted to play with a new prosecutor. I thought it might be fun to have a prosecutor who has it in for the defendant instead of Phoenix. (Although I guess that's already happened once, huh?)  
**_

_**PROLOGUE- April 3, 2019**_- **_Rivera Theatre_**

_Tosca. _Licia Puccini had played this role a hundred times. Why then, was she so apprehensive?

She chalked it up to opening night nerves and looked across the table at her husband, Luciano. She had never been in _Tosca _with her husband, before. Maybe that was why she was so nervous.

_It's a shame this act has to end the way it does._

She almost smiled, remembered that to break character was a cardinal sin, and looked away from her husband. She couldn't help but admire him, though. Luciano Puccini was a genius, the greatest bass-baritone that the opera world had ever seen. He had made her what she was. Although he'd been distant lately, Licia held him in the highest regard. He was (should have been) the love of her life. And they were very happy together, weren't they? And Luciano was a doting father...

Licia took a deep breath and looked back at Luciano. He was thoroughly engrossed in his character. He took a sip of the wine he had poured earlier in the act, and Licia, with shaking hands, reached for the wine he poured her, and then stopped and reached for the small dagger that was sitting on the table. She quickly pulled it into her lap and out of Luciano's sight.

"And which road do you prefer?" Luciano sang.

"The shortest!"

"Civitavecchia?"

"Yes!" Licia sang. She knew these words by heart, but she had never been in this particular opera with her husband. She hid the dagger behind her back as Luciano stood up and approached her. The most famous part of the opera was coming up. Licia took a deep breath and stopped thinking about why she was worried.

"Tosca," Luciano sang, "Now you are mine at last!" He ran to embrace Licia...

And Licia plunged the dagger into his chest.

_This is Tosca's kiss!_


	2. Start of a New Case!

_**April 4, 2019, Wright and Co. Law Offices**_

_Man, I hope I get some clients soon, _Phoenix thought as he flopped down in his deskchair. _Those bills aren't gonna pay themselves..._

Maya and Pearl had gone back to Kurain Village for a little while, so that Maya could do more training. Phoenix wasn't used to the silence of the office. It had never been that quiet, except for when he had been solving the murder of his mentor, Mia Fey. He'd been all alone then.

While he enjoyed the quiet, he worried about Maya and Pearl. Maya was still reeling from her mother's murder and Phoenix hoped that members of the Kurain branch family wouldn't try to take advantage of her weakness.

He leaned back in his chair and felt the leaves of the office plant, Charley, brush against his shoulder. Smiling, Phoenix turned to look at the plant. _I should probably water you, huh, Charley?_

He stood, then bent down and reached for the watering can he kept under his desk.

He heard the front door swing open and he froze.

_Could it be a client?_

"Mr. Nick?"

_Nope._

Phoenix recognized the voice. It belonged to Pearl Fey, Maya's younger cousin. She was about nine, with light brown hair done up into two intricate loops that sat on top of her head.

He slowly stood up and smiled warmly at Pearl.

"You're back awfully early, Pearls. Where's Maya?"

Pearl shrugged. "Mystic Maya had to do some pretty intense training. She sent me back here because she figured it'd be safer. You aren't mad, are you?" Pearl bit her lip and nervously looked away.

"Of course not!" Phoenix said. "You know you're always welcome here."

Pearl smiled widely and began jumping up and down.

"Are you hungry?" Phoenix asked. "We could go-"

Phoenix was interrupted by his familiar _Steel Samurai _ringtone.

_One of these days, I'm going to change it._

He smiled apologetically at Pearl and pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Wright speaking."

"Wright! Listen, pal! You need to go to the Detention Center right away!"

Phoenix winced and held the phone away from his ear. He'd recognize Detective Gumshoe's voice anywhere. _Why so yelly, Gumshoe?_

"Gumshoe, what's the matter?"

"I can't talk about it with Edgeworth in earshot! Just hurry! Ask for the lady I brought in last night!"

"Is Edgeworth okay? Gumshoe-"

"Look, I gotta go, pal. Go to the Detention Center. Ask for the lady I brought in last night," Gumshoe repeated.

_Click.  
_Phoenix sighed and closed his phone. He wasn't sure he was in the mood for a mystery. He had a sinking suspicion that Maggey Byrde had been accused of murder yet again, and he wasn't sure he was up to defending her.

"Mr. Nick? What is it?"

"Gumshoe wants me to go to the Detention Center," Phoenix said. "I guess there's a lady he wants me to talk to."

"Oh..." Pearl said. "Well, I think we should go. If Mr. Scruffy Detective thinks it's important, it must be, right?"

Phoenix nodded. _At the very least, we should find out who she is, and why Gumshoe wants us to help her so badly._

"Let's go, Pearls," Phoenix said, gently taking the child's hand. They walked to the bus stop in silence, and Phoenix thought, briefly, of maybe buckling down and finally getting his driver's license. He promptly forgot all about it when the bus pulled up. _I can't afford a car, anyway._

_**April 4, 2019- Detention Center**_

Phoenix slowly approached the guard station. The guard, a bored looking man in his mid-thirties, barely looked up when he saw Phoenix.

"Oh, Mr. Wright. What do you want?"

_Well hello to you too, Officer Friendly._

"I'd like to see the woman that Detective Gumshoe brought in last night," Phoenix said.

The guard grinned. "Oh, did he ask you to defend her? She's real pretty but a million light years out of ol' Gummy's league."

_So...probably not Maggey, then. Not that Maggey isn't pretty..._

The guard buzzed Phoenix and Pearl into the visitor's room and instructed them to wait. After a few moments, two guards led out an elegant woman with black hair piled onto her head in an intricate, old-fashioned style. She was wearing a lavender Victorian-style ballgown. The guards helped her sit on the stool. She looked down, away from Phoenix.

Up close, he could see that she was quite beautiful, with clear, pale skin, full pink lips, and piercing, almond-shaped grey eyes framed by long, thick lashes. She looked quite young. Phoenix wouldn't have guessed her to be any more than twenty. Her arms were folded over her chest and she looked rather calm, considering which side of the glass she was on.

"Excuse me," she said in a voice that cut the air like a blade even though it was soft. "But I specifically said that I wanted to be left alone." She fixed an icy glare on Phoenix that softened somewhat when she looked at Pearl. Then her eyes widened and her cold expression was replaced by a look of surprise.

"You—you're Phoenix Wright, aren't you? Have you come to help me?"

"I—I came as a favor for a friend."

The woman tilted her head. "Oh?"

"The Detective who arrested you last night asked me to see you. What happened?"

The woman sighed and looked down at the floor. "I've been accused of murdering my husband," she said.

Phoenix crossed his arms. He could use the money, but he wasn't sure if he could handle another murder trial so soon after the last one.

"I see," Phoenix said. "Let me ask you some questions, and I'll decide if I want to take your case."

"Fair enough," the woman said. She smiled, revealing white, even teeth.

"Let's start with your name," said Phoenix.

"My name is Licia Puccini," she said slowly. "I'm an opera singer. I'm pretty famous, actually."

"I see." _Maybe I should talk Edgeworth into taking this case. He'd probably die to work with a famous opera singer, and I bet he'd score free tickets out of the deal to boot._

"And what happened last night?" Phoenix pressed.

"Last night was the opening night of the Octave Opera Company's production of _Tosca. _I'm sure you've seen it so I won't bore you with the details."

_Actually, _Phoenix thought, _I've never seen it. _He made a mental note to ask Edgeworth about it later.

"Anyway," Licia continued, "My husband, Luciano, was also in the opera. At the end of the second act, I was supposed to stab him. I mean, not _really_ stab him, but, well..."

_I REALLY don't like where this is headed, _Phoenix thought. He shifted in his chair and tried to keep his expression neutral.

Licia's face fell. "But he was stabbed to death last night, and I've been accused of doing it. And...and a packed house saw it happen!" Licia buried her face in her hands and rocked back and forth in her chair.

Phoenix stood up. "I can't take this case."

"But, Mr. Wright..." Licia looked up, peeking at him from in between her fingers.

"You told me your husband was murded, _and _a theatre full of people saw you do it."

"That's why I need your help! I follow the news, Mr. Wright. I've seen the way you turn around hopeless cases! I've seen you find the truth!" She pulled her hands away from her face and glared at Phoenix.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Puccini, but I can't. This is just...too hopeless." _I'm sorry._

"Mr Nick!" Pearl gasped. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

Licia's face fell. She looked absolutely heartbroken, as though Phoenix's refusal to take her case had just crushed all of her hopes and dreams. Phoenix immediately felt a sharp pang of guilt. He thought briefly of helping her, then dismissed the thought. He thought again of Edgeworth. Maybe Edgeworth was feeling bold enough to wring the truth out of a hopeless case.

"I...I have a friend who might take your case, Ms. Puccini. His name is Miles Edgeworth. I mean, normally he prosecutes but maybe he could help you as a favor to me..."

Licia narrowed her eyes. Her old icy self returned almost at once. "I won't accept help from Miles Edgeworth," she said. Her words dripped with contempt.

_Geez, did he kick your puppy or something?_

"W-why?" Phoenix was taken aback by Licia's sudden change in demeanor.

"I have my reasons," she said coldly. "It's really no concern of yours."

"I...see."

Licia sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "So...you won't help me?"

Phoenix shook his head. "But...Ms. Puccini, regardless of how you may feel about Mr. Edgeworth, I'm sure he'd help you. He loves the opera. I bet he's your biggest fan." _Lay it on thick, Wright..._

A sardonic laugh escaped Licia's lips. "I already told you that I won't accept help from him. And besides...well, it isn't important."

Phoenix's jaw all but dropped. _Well, no wonder Gumshoe didn't want to talk about it with Edgeworth around._

"Ms. Puccini," Phoenix asked, "How do you know Mr. Edgeworth?"

Licia shrugged. "I already told you that it was none of your concern. Besides, you aren't my counsel."

She stared him in the eye for what felt like hours, and Phoenix felt as though he were back in the mountains, with the winter wind whipping around him.

"Go away," Licia said. Her voice was thick with emotion. It almost sounded like she was trying not to cry in front of him. "You've already made up your mind. I'll just take my chances with a public defender."

"You'll be found guilty for sure," Phoenix replied flatly.

"I imagine I will, yes. Since you aren't taking my case, I don't think that's any concern of yours."

"Can I ask you a question, Ms. Puccini? Why are you so concerned with getting my help?"

"Because _I didn't kill my husband,_" Licia spat. A few black curls fell out of their pins and into her face. She angrily pushed them away. "And...because...well, why do you care? You already think I'm guilty."

"I didn't say that," Phoenix said, as gently as he could. "I just said that your case is-"

"Hopeless," Licia sighed. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Her hands were shaking, her lower lip trembled. Phoenix thought he saw tears on her long, black lashes. Little beads of perspiration formed on her lips.

Pearl tugged on Phoenix's sleeve. "Mr. Nick, she's more scared than any of your other clients I've met. Look how she's shaking. There must be something serious at stake..."

_She's right, _Phoenix thought. He looked at Licia again. _I've got to get to the bottom of this._

"Ms Puccini," Phoenix repeated, "Is there another reason that you want my help so badly?"

"What do you care?" She slowly turned away from the glass.

"Wait! Ms. Puccini...tell me. If you tell me, maybe I can help you."

Licia turned back around. "Very well. The reason I want your help is because..." she stopped, and bit her lip again. "I want your help because I have a little boy. He's only six. I have a friend in the opera company who will take care of him while I'm in court, but she can't take care of him long-term. If I'm found guilty, he'll have nowhere to go except an orphanage." At this, Licia finally allowed herself to weep openly. "And that is why I want your help, Mr. Wright. Because I can't abide the thought of my son growing up all alone, without his mama and papa...being teased by the other children because his mother was found guilty of murdering his father...I can't bear it!" She buried her face in her hands and turned away from the glass. "Please come back later, Mr. Wright. I don't want you to see me like this."

Pearl tugged his sleeve. "Mr. Nick..."

Phoenix was reminded of something his mentor, Mia Fey, had said when he was just starting out as a lawyer.

_We can never know for sure if our clients are really guilty or innocent. All we can do is believe in them._

Who was there to believe in Licia Puccini? If he didn't, who would?

"Ms. Puccini, I'm taking your case."

Licia slowly turned around to face Phoenix. "You...you what?"

"I'm taking your case."

Licia looked like she was about to faint. "R-really? Oh my...thank you so much, Mr. Wright! I'm forever in your debt!"

"Don't thank me just yet," Phoenix warned. "We have a long way to go to prove you innocent."

Licia nodded. "Understood. I'm counting on you, Mr. Wright."

"I've got to go to my office and get the paperwork," Phoenix said. "I'll be back soon."


	3. Investigation, Day One: Edgeworth

_**APRIL 4- HIGH PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE**_

Phoenix decided to make a quick detour to Edgeworth's office, since it was on the way. _Maybe Edgeworth has some information on this case that can help me. Lord knows I'm going to need it._

Phoenix hoped he'd find Edgeworth in a forthcoming mood. He was prosecuting, after all.

When Phoenix and Pearl arrived in Edgeworth's office, they found him staring listlessly out the window.

"Um...err, Edgeworth...can we come in?"

Edgeworth chuckled weakly and turned around. "You're already in, aren't you?"

_Oh, hello Edgeworth. You're sour, as usual. _The bags under Edgeworth's eyes were more pronounced than usual, and his silvery hair was a little unkempt. He looked like he'd been up all night.

"I've...um, come to ask for your help."

"Do you need me to recommend you a good maid?" Edgeworth teased.

_Urk._

"No," Phoenix said. "I've taken on a case and I was wondering if you had any information about it..."

"I see," Edgeworth said slowly. He crossed his arms. "Well. Who's your client?"

"Her name is Licia Puccini."

Phoenix thought he saw Edgeworth's eyes widen, but Edgeworth quickly regained his composure.

"I'm sorry, Wright." Edgeworth said, in a slow, even tone. "I won't be able to help you. You are aware that I'm heading the investigation, are you not?"

"Oh." _Well, I'm sure aware now._

Phoenix jammed his hands in his pocket and looked around Edgeworth's office while he tried to think of something to say. It was as ostentatious as ever.

Pearl tugged on his sleeve. "Who keeps a jacket hanging on the wall?" She pointed to the far wall of Edgeworth's office. He had one of his dress jackets hanging up in a frame.

Phoenix winced. "Let's not go there, Pearls." He returned his attention to Edgeworth. "You and Ms. Puccini seem to know each other."

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes. "That's really...unimportant."

Phoenix watched in shock as no less than five Psyche-locks appeared in front of his friend.

Pearl nudged Phoenix with her elbow. "Mr. Nick, do you see those?"

Phoenix nodded. _I don't think we're going to be able to break them, though...I'll try something else._

It occurred to Phoenix, then, that Edgeworth had only said that he was heading the investigation. _Is he prosecuting, then? _

He decided to ask Edgeworth about it. "Will you be prosecuting as well?"

Edgeworth shook his head. "No, the prosecutor will be an old...colleague of mine."

Phoenix opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a short, sharp knock on the door.

Then whoever had knocked strode into the room. He was a tall, lean man with short, shaggy brown hair and a handsome face. He was dressed in a blue suit that reminded Phoenix of a Civil War Union Army uniform. He put his hands on his hips and shifted his weight to one side. Phoenix couldn't help but be reminded of a rock star. There was something about the way he carried himself.

"Miles!" the man said, "Long time no see! Gummy-bear and I are just about to-" He stopped speaking when he saw Phoenix and Pearl. "Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Uh, actually, we were just..." He sighed and shook his head.

The man looked down at the floor with a bemused smile.

"Wright, this is-" Edgeworth started.

"Bram F. Pinkerton," the man finished, extending a hand toward Phoenix. He smiled a little too widely. "And you're Phoenix Wright? Wow, you look...taller on TV."

_Urk. I already don't like this guy, _Phoenix thought.

"Love the hair," Pinkerton went on.

"N-nice to meet you," Phoenix stammered. He slowly took Pinkerton's hand and found it seized in the most obnoxiously powerful handshake he'd ever had the displeasure of experiencing. He yanked his hand away from Pinkerton and started rubbing it in an attempt to ease the pain. _Gah, this is my objection hand! _

"So you're the attorney crazy enough to take this case," Pinkerton said. It wasn't a question. He grinned.

"I believe in her," Phoenix said flatly.

Pinkerton burst into laughter. "Belief will only get you so far." He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at Phoenix. "It's not disbelief that's dangerous. It's belief. George Bernard Shaw said that."

Phoenix gritted his teeth and curled his hands into fists so tight that his nails dug into his palms.

Pearl tugged on his sleeve. "He's not worth getting angry over, Mr. Nick..."

Pinkerton chuckled and looked down at Pearl. "Well, if it isn't the cutest little paralegal I've ever seen!"

He looked back up at Phoenix with his obnoxious grin plastered across his face. "I'm sure that your crack legal team will be victorious against the facts!"

With another short, barking laugh, Pinkerton excused himself and left the room.

Edgeworth sighed and sat down behind his desk. "And that's Pinkerton. You know, it's odd..." he sighed and ran his fingers through his silvery hair.

"What's odd?" Phoenix asked.

"Pinkerton specifically asked for this case," Edgeworth replied. "He flew over from Tokyo to take it. It's almost like...well, never mind."

"Why do you think he wanted the case, Edgeworth?" Phoenix asked.

Edgeworth took hold of his sleeve and looked toward the side of the room. "I could ask you the same thing. You know the details of the case, yes?"

Phoenix nodded. "I do."

"You know it's hopeless." Edgeworth went on.

Phoenix stared Edgeworth in the eye. "I—I believe in her."

The corners of Edgeworth's mouth turned up ever so slightly. "You said that before. I see."

"You didn't answer my question," Phoenix pressed. "Why did he specifically ask for this case?"

"I don't know," Edgeworth said simply. "I encouraged him to find the truth, however..."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes. _The truth, huh? But you just said this case was hopeless. Unless you know more than we do..._

Edgeworth's phone began ringing.

"Excuse me," he said curtly. He took the phone and walked out of his office.

"Mr. Nick, why don't we look around his office? Maybe there's a clue!" Pearl exclaimed.

Phoenix shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea-"

But Pearl had already begun rifling around on Edgeworth's desk.

"Mr. Nick, look!" She pointed to an old, black and white photo that sat on top of the desk. It was worn around the edges. Phoenix carefully approached the desk and looked at the photo.

_How unusual, _Phoenix thought, _It isn't in a frame. _Miles Edgeworth was, if anything, fastidious. It wasn't like him to leave a photo unframed. Against his better judgement, Phoenix delicately picked up the photo and took a better look at it. The photo was a portrait of a teenage girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, dressed as a geisha. She was smiling sadly at the camera. The photo itself had an autograph on it. "Best wishes."

Phoenix could hardly read the signature. The first name could have been anything at all, and Phoenix could just make out the last name. _Something...Yamazaki, maybe? This girl had doctor handwriting! _There was a printed phrase in quotes just under the signature. _"Cio-Cio". _Phoenix turned the photo around and saw a date. _April 2011. That was a long time ago._

Phoenix took a closer look at the girl. He thought maybe he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't think where. _If I had a picture of this same girl without that geisha makeup, I might recognize her._

He heard footsteps approaching the office and quickly made a note of the photo in his Court Record before setting it back down.

"I apologize," Edgeworth said. "I've got to leave..."

"Edgeworth, wait," Phoenix said. He pointed to the photo. "This photo is really striking. Where did you get it?"

Edgeworth almost jumped. "That's—that's—nothing!" He quickly pulled the photo out of Phoenix's hands. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't poke around in my belongings, Wright." He slowly set it back on the desk. His hands trembled, almost imperceptibly.

"Sorry. I was just surprised to see it lying out on your desk like that. It's a really beautiful photo, Edgeworth. Why don't you have it framed?"

"It would clash with the rest of my décor," Edgeworth mumbled. He turned his head away from Phoenix and grabbed on to his right arm. "Besides, it's nothing."

_So I've touched a nerve, _Phoenix thought.

"Let me give you directions to the Rivera Theatre," Edgeworth said, "Since I know you'll want to investigate after you get your client her paperwork."


	4. Investigation, Day One: Here and There

_**APRIL 4, 2019, WRIGHT AND CO. LAW OFFICE**_

_Gack! Where the hell did I file my extra copies of that paperwork? _Phoenix groaned as he dug through his filing cabinet for the tenth time. "I _know _I put it in this cabinet," he grumbled.

"Ah...um, Mr. Nick, are you looking for these?"

Pearl held out a stack of papers. Phoenix smiled and took them.

"Yes. Thank you, Pearl."

"I wonder what happened between Mr. Edgeworth and Ms. Licia," Pearl mused. "And I wonder why Mr. Pinkerton wanted this case so badly."

_Good question, _Phoenix thought. _Considering that Gumshoe couldn't ask me to help her with Edgeworth in earshot, I'd say that Licia's loathing for Edgeworth is mutual. But why? And why would Gumshoe want me to help her?_

"There must be some kind of heartwarming, though tragic story between them!" Pearl sighed.

Phoenix shook his head. _That's probably not a good thing, Pearls._

"What should we do now?" Phoenix asked. "We have to go back and give Ms. Puccini her paperwork, but.."

"Did you check her for Psyche-Locks?"

"To be honest, Pearls, I didn't even think about it." _Maybe I should._

"Remember what happened with Engarde!" Pearl chided.

Phoenix groaned. That particular case had been over a year ago and thinking about it still made his skin crawl. _I don't think Ms. Puccini could have hired an assassin like Matt Engarde did. Not if the people at the opera saw her commit the murder. I should probably check her for Psyche-Locks anyway, though. She might be hiding something._

"Let's hurry and get this paperwork to Ms. Puccini, okay, Pearl?"

"Okay!"

_**APRIL 4, 2019- DETENTION CENTER**_

When Phoenix and Pearl arrived at the Detention Center, they found that, somehow, Licia had acquired a change of clothes. She was wearing a modest, blueish-gray button-up blouse and black slacks. She'd also removed the heavy eye makeup and had taken her hair out of the elaborate, curled style. Her black hair was wavy and fell just below her shoulders. She'd braided some of the hair on the sides of her head and had tied them back. Phoenix thought that she looked paler than the last time he'd seen her. Her eyes were puffy and red, like she'd been crying.

"You were gone for about two hours," Licia said. "I figured I'd see about getting a change of clothes while you were gone. I can't very well go to court in my costume tomorrow. It's terribly cumbersome...so I had a friend from the opera bring me some clothes..." She smiled broadly at Pearl.

"What an adorable little girl! I was going to ask when I saw her earlier, but...is she yours, Mr. Wright?"

_Gack! _"Um...er, no, no she's not. She's...a sort-of niece."

"I see." Licia didn't appear to be convinced.

Phoenix handed her the paperwork and a pen. "If you'll just sign it anywhere it says to sign."

"Thank you, Mr. Wright." Licia took the paperwork and began reading through it.

"Uh, Ms. Puccini?"

"Yes?" She looked up from the paperwork and slightly tilted her head.

"I've got a few questions for you. It's very important that you answer me honestly."

"I'll be happy to answer any questions," Licia said. She looked up from her paperwork and leaned back in the chair. "Fire away."

Phoenix reached into his pocket for the magatama that Maya had given him and closed his hand around it. "Did you kill your husband?"

"No." Her brow furrowed. "Didn't we go over this earlier this morning?"

Phoenix squinted. _No Psyche-Locks here. Next question._

"This might sound really strange, but, um, did you...hire an assassin to kill your husband?"

Licia glared at him. "How ludicrous." She bent back down over her paperwork. Then she she looked back up. "Why would you even _ask_ me something like that?"

No Psyche-Locks appeared when she answered. Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief.

_Nope, she definitely didn't do that, either. _

"S-sorry," Phoenix stammered, "It's just...I once had a client who..."

"Matt Engarde, right? That was all over the news last year," Licia said. She neatly rearranged the paperwork and handed it to Phoenix. "All done."

"Yeah, him," Phoenix said, trying to contain his disgust. He took the paperwork from Licia and put it in his Court Record. "Now, can I ask you about the night of the murder?"

"Of course."Licia leaned back in her seat. "Let's see, I was called to the theatre about two hours before the performance so that I could have my hair and make-up done." She put a finger to her lip and looked off to the right. "Luci was going to come about an hour after I did. He hadn't been feeling well all that week, and he was going to drop Ben off at the sitter's, because Ben is a little young for _Tosca. _When I got there I found out that our stylist was ill, so the assisstant helped me with my hair and makeup. Anyway, things went off without a hitch for the first act. But I saw my understudy and the assisstant over by the prop table during the intermission. Something about it felt strange. I thought maybe my understudy had been caught doing something she shouldn't have, because the assisstant was giving her an earful. After the intermission, we started the second act. And that went off without a hitch until...until..." Licia bit her lip and looked down.

"How long was the intermission?" Phoenix asked.

"Fifteen minutes," Licia said.

_That's long enough for someone to tamper with the props..._

"Do you know why the assisstant was...um, scolding your understudy?"

Licia shook her head. "I wish I did, Mr. Wright."

Phoenix felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down at Pearl.

"Uh, Mr. Nick," she said slowly, "What's an...un-dur-stuh-dee?"

"Um, it's...someone who steps in for an actor if that other actor isn't able to perform..."

Licia smiled, almost sadly. Phoenix had no doubt that she was thinking of her own son.

Phoenix looked back up at Licia. "I know this is difficult...but can you tell me about the moment of the murder?"

Licia nodded. "Yes."

_**FLASHBACK- APRIL 3, 2019- TOSCA SECOND ACT**_

_This was it. The climactic scene was approaching. Licia slowly slid the trick dagger off of the table and into her lap as Luciano wrote._

"_And which road do you prefer?" Luciano sang._

"_The shortest!" _

"_Civitavecchia?"_

"_Yes!"_

_Luciano finished the note and rushed toward Licia with open arms. "Tosca, now you are mine at last!"_

_Licia plunged the trick dagger into his chest. There was some stage makeup applied there so that the trick dagger would stick._

"_This is Tosca's kiss!" she sang. She paused. Luciano had a line here, but he was staring at her with wide eyes and wheezing, as though he'd lost his breath. His face was sheet-white, but his cheeks were flushed. He'd had a fever all week. Was it getting worse?_

"_Luciano?"_

"_Dilly-dally, shilly-shally," he mumbled. "Licia, Licia...the moon sleeps with Endymion and cannot be awak'd!"_

_He suddenly clutched at his throat and collapsed, face first, onto the stage. Licia instinctively fell to her knees beside him and rolled him over. He was pale, shaking, and sweating. Licia started screaming._

"_Maestro! Maestro! Stop the orchestra!"_

"_I'm flying, Licia," Luciano whispered. "Flying, flying..."_

_Some of the chorusters swarmed onto the stage, curious about the ruckus they had heard._

"_Ms. Puccini, what happened?"_

_Just then, the maestro stopped the orchestra and climbed onstage. "What's going on? What's happened?"_

"_It's Luci...something's wrong...it's that fever he's had all week!" Licia sobbed._

_A woman who was sitting in the front row climbed onto the stage and pushed her way through the crowd of chorusters. "Let me help! Let me help! Luciano Puccini is my hero!"_

_The Maestro dragged Licia away from her husband. "What happened?"_

"_I-I don't know," Licia stammered. "Please...please...it's his fever..."_

"_He's dead!" The woman's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd. "She stabbed him!" _

"_The police are on their way!" shouted a voice from the stage. Licia looked over and saw her understudy with her phone in her hand. "I called as soon as I saw what happened!"_

"And that's what happened," Licia sighed. "They took my costume as evidence, even."

_Urk, _Phoenix thought. _This doesn't look good._

"But I couldn't have stabbed him," Licia continued. "The dagger was a trick dagger."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. The trick dagger is much lighter than a real one. It takes practice to pick it up and make it look real...if it had been a real dagger, I would have known immediately."

_No Psyche-Locks there, either. She's telling the truth...or, at least, she believes she is._

"I...see." Phoenix quickly made a note about the trick dagger in his Court Record. He shifted in his seat, then sat back down. "Wait. Ms. Puccini, you said he had a fever?"

"Yes. He'd had a fever for most of dress week."

"Do you know what was wrong?"

"No, Mr. Wright." Licia wrung her hands. "You don't think I had anything to do with that, do you?"

"No," Phoenix said.

Licia nodded. "Good."

_I guess I should investigate the scene, _Phoenix thought. He took Pearl's hand. "Let's go to the theatre, Pearls."

_**APRIL 4, 2019- RIVERA THEATRE**_

Phoenix had barely walked into the theatre's lobby when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, pal! The theatre is closed while we investigate!"

Phoenix turned around to see a rather tall, burly man with tousled black hair and a ragged green trenchcoat. The man glowered at Phoenix, but his expression softened when he saw Pearl.

_Oh, Gumshoe. I knew I'd find you here... _Phoenix thought.

"I'm serious, pal—oh. It's you." Detective Dick Gumshoe grinned, shrugged, and scratched the back of his head. "You took the opera lady's case, then?"

"I did," Phoenix said.

Pearl tugged on his sleeve. "Mr. Nick! What's an op-er-uh?"

"Um...we can ask Mr. Edgeworth later," Phoenix said lamely. He turned his attention back to Gumshoe.

"I bet you're going to tell me not to talk to the witnesses or poke around too much."

"Naw, this case is pretty open and shut, pal," Gumshoe said. "But..." He shook his head. "Edgeworth's really tore up about this case."

"How so?"

Gumshoe sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, when he found out what happened, he was the most miserable that I've seen him in a long time. Wouldn't talk about what was bugging him. Then he decided to head the investigation and got all fired up—you know how he gets, pal."

_Altogether too well, _Phoenix thought.

"Go ahead and look around if you want," Gumshoe said.

"Gummy-bear!" called a deep, familiar voice.

Phoenix grimaced. _Ugh. Prosecutor Pinkerton..._

Pinkerton strode toward Gumshoe and grinned. "You can't just let people come in-" He narrowed his eyes. "Oh. Mr. Firebird, was it?" He smirked. "If you came looking for clues, you're too late. We've already found everything, and wouldn't you know? It's all _decisive._" Pinkerton chuckled and and pushed a few strands of his brown hair out of his eyes. "But by all means, do look around. Maybe you can find one of your precious little contradictions."

Phoenix resisted the building urge to punch Pinkerton right in his smug mouth and nodded. "How gracious of you to let us investigate the scene."

Pinkerton shrugged. "I believe in fair play. Also, seeing your crushing defeat in the face of rock-solid evidence will be amusing. I look forward to watching you flounder tomorrow." Pinkerton turned his attention to Gumshoe. "Gummy-bear. I'm going to forensics. Finish up whatever you're doing here and meet me there in twenty minutes. Don't be late."

"Yes sir," Gumshoe mumbled.

Pinkerton waved. "Ta-ta now." Then he turned on his heel and walked toward the exit.

_I think I might hate that guy. _

Gumshoe frowned. "Sorry, pal. Pinkerton's...intense about this case."

"So I see," Phoenix mumbled.

"Anyway. You know the drill. Look around, try not to talk to the witnesses." Gumshoe smiled.

_Like that's ever stopped me before, _Phoenix thought. He started to head toward the backstage area, but Gumshoe tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, wait, here's a map of the backstage area." Gumshoe handed Phoenix the map. "Good luck, pal." Then he walked away, toward the audience area.

Phoenix looked down at Pearl. "So where do you think we should look first?"

Pearl pointed at the backstage area. "Let's try here."


	5. Investigation, Day One: Rivera Theatre

**A/N: I didn't update last week, so y'all get two chapters. Thanks for reading!**

_**APRIL 4, RIVERA THEATRE- BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR**_

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The Backstage Corridor was a narrow hallway made entirely of gray concrete. There was a large metal door on the far end. Phoenix figured that that door must have led outside. The corridor branched off in two places- one branch led to the stage, and the other branch led to a flight of stairs.

"Doesn't look like there's anything here, Mr. Nick." Pearl said slowly.

"Let's go downstairs, then," Phoenix replied. He took Pearl's hand and together they went down the stairs.

_**RIVERA THEATRE- DOWNSTAIRS CORRIDOR**_

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**_

The downstairs corridor was carpeted, and it was lined with dressing rooms. A pair of speakers mounted on the wall caught Phoenix's eye almost immediately. He pulled up a chair that was leaning against the wall and climbed on top of it, straining to get a better look at them.

"Mr. Nick, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm just getting a better look, Pearls. This could be a clue-"

A female voice cracked the air like a whip."Hey! Quit fiddling with those monitors! They're already broken!"

Phoenix yelped and fell off of the chair. He slowly stood up and rubbed his backside. _Ugh. That smarts._

He slowly turned around and saw a young woman standing in front of him. She had frizzy, shoulder-length brown hair and clear, green eyes. She was dressed casually, in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. She was taller than he was, with a lean, wiry build.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to yell." She grinned sheepishly. "I'm Carmen Ghia. I'm an assisstant here. The maestro will have my head if anything else happens to the monitors..."

"I see," Phoenix said.

"What are you doing down here, anyway? You don't look like a cop." She folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to one side.

"I'm..." Phoenix bit his lip. _Can I tell her that I'm Ms. Puccini's attorney? What if she's a witness? Will she talk?_

He decided to take the risk. "I'm Phoenix Wright. I'm Ms. Puccini's attorney."

"You're _the _Phoenix Wright?" Carmen's eyes widened so much that they threatened to take over her whole face. "And you're helping Licia? THIS IS SO GREAT!" She started bouncing up and down with a positively joyous smile on her face. "The cops told me not to talk to any lawyers, but I'll do anything for Licia, anything!"

_Wow. Someone should be drinking decaf._

"Um...okay," Phoenix said. "Um, how do you know Ms. Puccini?"

"Omigosh, we met when she and Luciano first moved to the US. Their son was maybe a year old. I think they moved here because they didn't want to be moving from company to company while Ben was a baby. Anyway, I was a choruster then, and all the other leading sopranos were mean to me." Carmen exhaled through her teeth.

"They were always telling me that I had no talent and to stop dreaming and stop being involved with opera, and when I saw that Licia Puccini had signed a ten-year contract with the company, I was really scared. Licia Puccini is a prodigy, yanno? She made her international debut in Vienna when she was just sixteen...er, sorry, I'm rambling." Carmen smiled sheepishly again and continued telling her story. "Like I said, all the other ladies were mean to me, and I thought Licia was going to be the meanest of all, so when she got here I avoided her like the plague. But one day, a group of the other chorusters started picking on me in front of everyone, right in the middle of rehearsal! I ran into the dressing room and cried. Licia came in and told me not to let them get to me, and to keep chasing my dreams no matter what, and we've been the best of friends ever since." Carmen sighed deeply and idly twirled her hair around a finger. "It's really too bad, what happened to Luciano. I know she didn't do it. Their story has got to be one of the greatest love stories ever."

Pearl perked up. "Oh? How so?"

Carmen leaned in close to Pearl. "Well kiddo, their marriage was arranged-"

Pearl gasped. "That's not romantic! That's horrible! You should get to pick who you marry!"

"Let me finish," Carmen giggled. "Even though their marriage was arranged, they were so in love. They eloped because they wanted to have each other to themselves instead of having a big wedding like their families wanted. And I've never seen a man as devoted to his little boy as Luciano was." Carmen sighed again.

_As fascinating as this is, _Phoenix thought, _I'd like to get a move-on. _"Tell me about the night of the murder. Did you see what happened?"

Carmen shook her head. "No. I was backstage organizing the props for the next act. It was kind of close quarters because most of the chorusters were backstage, too. Everything sounded like it was going okay, until I heard Licia screaming. I ran onstage and saw her kneeling next to poor Luci. Then all of the chorusters swarmed onstage and surrounded them and I couldn't see what was going on anymore."

Phoenix nodded. "Okay." He crossed his arms. _What else can I ask her about?_

"Why were the..the kor-us-stirs backstage?" Pearl asked.

"Well," Carmen said, "Normally, they can see and hear everything that's happening onstage from down here. They listen to the monitors out here, and there are small televisions in the dressing rooms. We have the monitors so that the singers down here know what's going on upstairs. But the monitors broke about a week ago, so if the chorusters wanted to watch or know when to go on, they'd have to be watching from backstage. It's a real mess." Carmen shrugged.

Phoenix quickly made a note about the broken monitors in his court record. After all, they might come in handy. So far, though, Carmen hadn't been very helpful. _What else can I ask ? Ms. Puccini said something..._

"Carmen," Phoenix said, "Ms. Puccini told me that she saw you berating her understudy during the intermission."

Carmen's face went blank for a moment. "She wha...?" Then her green eyes brightened. "Oh! Well, yeah...Miss de Los Angeles likes to nose around in the props. I tell her not to because if something happens to them, I'm responsible."

It dawned on Phoenix that Carmen had just revealed something that could help his case. "So you're in charge of the props, then?"

Carmen nodded. "Yeah, and helping the singers with their hair and make-up...and costumes. I'm a regular Jill of all trades!"

"So, about the dagger that was used to stab Mr. Puccini-"

"You know, there's something strange about that," Carmen said. She looked up at the ceiling and started tapping on her lips with her index finger. "The trick dagger we used in the stabbing scene is part of a set. We've got two trick daggers, and two real daggers that look exactly like the trick ones..." Her face scrunched up as she thought about the daggers. "We were missing one of the real ones the night before the murder, and it turned up in poor Luci's chest...but now the trick dagger is missing!"

"Tell me more about the trick daggers," Phoenix said.

"Well, they're lighter than the real ones," said Carmen. "And if you put any pressure on the blades, they retract into the hilt. That's why it looks like someone is really being stabbed..."

"You're in charge of props, right? Are you sure you put a trick dagger out last night?"

"Absolutely". Carmen's voice had a certainty in it that even Phoenix couldn't doubt. He quickly made notes about the daggers. _This might be how I can save Licia..._

"Well, uh, I'm so so so so _so_ glad you're helping Licia," Carmen said after a moment, "But I really gotta get back to work. The maestro will have my head if he catches me chit-chatting on the clock. I guess I'll see you in court tomorrow. Byeeeeeeeeeee!" With a giggle and a wave, Carmen bounced down the hall and out of sight. Phoenix shook his head. _Nothing she said was especially helpful!_

Pearl tugged on his sleeve just then. "Maybe we should look in the dressing rooms, Mr. Nick?"

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea..."

_**CHAPTER THREE: APRIL 4- LICIA'S DRESSING ROOM.**_

Licia's dressing room was spacious. There were two vanities against the far wall, with lights all around the mirrors, and costume racks against the closest wall. There was a woman standing in front of one of the vanities, curling her long, platinum blonde hair into ringlets. Her hair was obviously bleached—Phoenix could see the dark roots coming in. She was dressed in an incredibly elaborate, frilly pink dress, with short, puffy sleeves. Phoenix and Pearl slowly walked up behind her.

"You don't look like a cop," she said, without even turning around. "I bet you're that lawyer that guy in the fancy dress uniform told me not to talk to."

_Urk._

"Um, well, yeah..."

"It's a waste of time to investigate," the woman said plainly. She slowly unwound the strand of hair she'd been curling and moved on to the next section. "The cops found everything and I'm not talking until it's my turn to testify. If the trial even gets that far. Ow!" She winced and pulled the curling iron away from her scalp.

"Who are you, anyway? I mean, why are you in Ms. Puccini's dressing room?" Phoenix blurted it out before he even had time to stop himself. The woman smiled broadly, showing off impossibly straight, white teeth.

"I am Angelica de Los Angeles," she proclaimed. "I was Licia's understudy, but tonight, I will be the star! Well, and we share the dressing room..."

_That's odd. Wouldn't they cancel the show...?_

"I know what you're thinking, Lawyer. You're wondering why the show isn't cancelled. Well, the company has put a great deal of money into this production, and so the show must go on! We've flown in a wonderful baritone from New York to replace poor Luciano." She giggled.

Phoenix groaned. He wasn't going to get much investigating done with that woman in there.

"How long have you known Ms. Puccini, Miss...Angelica?" he asked. He didn't feel much like pronouncing Angelica's painfully pretentious last name.

"I told you I wasn't talking!" Angelica chirped. She pursed her lips, then grinned. "But...this isn't about last night, so I guess I can share a bit..." She finished curling her hair and turned to face Phoenix. He was struck at once by her arrogant demeanor. She might have been pretty if she hadn't been sneering. Or wearing so much makeup.

"I've been with this company for about three years. I've almost always been Licia's understudy in the time I've been here. This was my lucky break. My contract was about to run out, but after tonight, I'm sure they'll renew it. What a lucky coincidence, eh?" She smiled again, reminding Phoenix of a barracuda.

_It's an all-too-convenient coincidence, _Phoenix thought.

"I heard that Licia was friendly with the chorusters," he said, changing the subject.

"She'd have to be, with that philandering husband of hers," Angelica said with a malicious grin. "If I was trapped in a loveless arranged marriage with an unwanted child, I'd spend time with lesser talents, too."

Phoenix looked nervously down at Pearl. The look on her face was one of mixed curiosity and horror.

"Uh...why don't you cover your ears, Pearls-"

"That Carmen lady said that Ms. Puccini and her husband were in love!" Pearl snapped.

_Urk. Too late._

Angelica bent down close to Pearl. "Little girl. You'll understand when you get older."

"Licia has said she loved her husband," Phoenix pointed out.

Angelica rolled her eyes and straightened back up. "Puh-lease. When they got married, she was seventeen and he was thirty. She hasn't ever had a chance to learn what love is."

_And I suppose you're an expert, Miss Angelica. _

"And you know what? They eloped," Angelica said. "It was all over the papers six years ago. They eloped, and then six months later, Licia had a baby. Do the math, Lawyer. Loveless arranged marriage. Unwanted baby. Who knows who the father was? Luciano cheats, Licia gets upset and finally snaps." Angelica smiled coldly. "Tragic, really."

"Indeed," Phoenix said, giving Angelica an icy stare. _If she told all this to the police, the prosecution is going to have a pretty solid case against Licia. Urk, there must be something..._

"Well, I've got a photoshoot for the paper," Angelica purred. "Good luck with your...ah, investigation." She sauntered out of the room. When she was gone, Pearl turned to Phoenix.

"I don't think I like her, Mr. Nick."

"She's...different," Phoenix said slowly. He slowly scanned the dressing room, looking for anything unusual. There were two vases on Licia's vanity, one with white and yellow roses, and one with red and white striped carnations. Phoenix figured that it couldn't hurt to check out the vases. The roses had a card on them addressed to Licia, and the carnations had a card on them addressed to Carmen. Both cards had Luciano Puccini's signature on them.

_Hm. So he gave flowers to both of them that night. Probably not important._

His eyes wandered to the drawer, and he noticed that it was slightly open, as though someone had hastily shoved something inside and slammed it shut. He opened the drawer and found a small, brown bottle with a red lid. The bottle was almost empty. He carefully picked it up and read the label. _Almond extract. That's weird. Who keeps something like this in their vanity? _He made a note in his court record and decided to take the bottle, just in case it turned out to be important. There was almond extract smeared all over the outside of the bottle. Phoenix grimaced and wiped his hands on his pants.

"Mr. Nick, look." Pearl gestured toward the trash can next to Licia's vanity. Phoenix bent down and gingerly pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper. He carefully uncrumpled it, revealing in the process that it was a section that had been torn from a longer letter, and read it.

"_My darling. I'm sorry. Things can't go on like this. I have thought deeply about our relationship, and the truth is that someone else will always be first in my heart. Please forgive me, darling, but...it's over. Luci."_

Pearl scrunched up her face. "What a terrible, cowardly man!"

Phoenix resisted the urge to punch a wall. So far, everything he had uncovered had only served to incriminate Licia. His mind raced. _There have to be more clues. If not here, then in maybe in Luciano's dressing room. _

He looked at the note again. Luciano had been kind enough to date it. _It's dated the day before the murder. _Without thinking, he jammed the note into his pocket.

Then he grabbed Pearl's hand and dragged her to Luciano's dressing room.


	6. Investigation, Day One: Meeting Maestro

_**APRIL 4- LUCIANO'S DRESSING ROOM**_

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Luciano's dressing room was eerily quiet. Everything was left exactly the way it had been the night of the murder. There was a vase with an arrangement of yellow tulips and daffodils resting on the vanity. A tag on the vase read "Toi, toi, toi! Love, Carmen."

Phoenix immediately began tearing the room apart, looking for any clues he could. After a few minutes, he finally gave up. "There's nothing even remotely useful in here," he groaned.

Pearl, meanwhile, was focused on the flowers. "That's odd..."

"Hm, Pearls?"

"Mother taught me a little about the language of flowers," Pearl said slowly, "I can't seem to remember now...but putting daffodils and yellow tulips in the same arrangement...it's a little much, I think." She screwed up her face. "Too much yellow."

"I see." Phoenix made a note of the vase. _We need all the leads we can get._

He looked down at Pearl. "Why don't we go have a burger or something, and then we'll go visit Ms. Puccini. I'd like her to see this note."

Phoenix and Pearl had barely stepped out of Luciano's dressing room when-

"Stop! What is it that are you thinking you are doing?"

Phoenix found himself staring right at a tall, thin man with thinning black hair and a pencil moustache. He was wearing a tuxedo and he did not look happy to see Phoenix and Pearl.

"This area is off limits to unemployees," he said sharply. "Please to be getting out now!" The man had a thick Italian accent. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, which had the effect of making him look even more threatening.

Phoenix instinctively flashed his attorney's badge at the man. "I'm with the investigation!" he said.

"Pah, investigators are not bringing their children to crime scenes!"

"It's...it's take your Daughter or Other Young Female Relative to Work Day!" Phoenix stammered.

The man looked down at Pearl, and his demeanor softened almost instantly.

"But isn't it scary for a such a darling childto be examining crime scenes?"

"I don't mind," Pearl said.

The man laughed and looked back up at Phoenix. "My name is Don Octave. I am the maestro! This opera company, it is my baby! Please, examine all you want!"

_It couldn't hurt to ask about the murder._

"Um, Maestro, could you tell me about the night of the murder?"

Don Octave threw his head back and laughed. "Ohohohoho, you are being very clever. But the police tell me that I am not to be talking until I go to court tomorrow."

_Damn. It was worth a try. But I bet there's something else I can ask..._

"I just met Angelica de Los Angeles..." Phoenix said, experimentally.

"Ah, you have met Signorina Angelica? She is difficult to get used to, but she is a sweet person underneath! Why, a week before the incident, she was bringing us all an almond cheesecake!"

_She brought a what? I hadn't pegged her as the kind of person to bring baked goods to share with...well, anyone._

"Uh, Mr. Octave, what did you say she brought?"

"Call me Signor Octave...or Maestro," the maestro said, "And she was bringing us all an almond cheesecake. And it was so, so delectiful! It's too bad poor Luci and Licia couldn't have any."

"Why not?" Phoenix readied his notepad.

"Luci was very, very, er...how you say? Allergic to almonds. Just one bite and he would be needing hospital."

"What about Licia?" Phoenix asked.

"She was taking their darling little boy to...dentist, I think." Octave looked up at the ceiling. "Yes. Yes, that was it."

"I see," Phoenix said. He started ushering Pearl down the hall. "Well, uh, we've really...got to go...get some lunch...yeah..."

"Please come see the opera sometime!" Don Octave called as Phoenix and Pearl retreated down the hall. "We are doing _The Stoned Guest _in summer and you will have wonderful time!"

_Is he going to be the Stoned Guest? _Phoenix couldn't help but wonder.

_**APRIL 4, DETENTION CENTER.**_

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_Licia was troubled by her dreams. Snatches of songs she'd learned drifted in and out of her head. _

"_**I was young and foolish, now my heart is full of tears..."**_

_And more disconcerting: **"'Twas the love of my baby which has brought me to this madness..."**_

_The scene in her dream changed. She was under a weeping willow tree, so old and so big it had long, thick branches that might as well have been curtains. It was winter now, and the leaves were gone. _

_**Our tree.**_

_Licia laid in the snow, curled up in ball, shivering. She'd been there a while. Sunlight filtered through the branches and dappled the snow with shadows that danced in the breeze._

_Someone shook her shoulder. _

"_Were you waiting here all night?"_

_She turned, and saw Luciano crouching beside her, his brown eyes wide and full of concern. Some of his black hair had fallen into his face, but he made no move to push it away._

"_Lu...Luci..." She bit her lip and tried to keep from crying. "Luci...let's go away together. Let's get married somewhere far away."_

_He gently, tenderly caressed her cheek. "We don't have to do this."_

"_Yes we do! Let's run away." She threw her arms around him, clutched his coat as tightly as she could. "I don't care what people say. I don't care about how mad my parents are going to be. Let's just...go." _

_Someone shook her again, more insistently this time. She turned away from Luciano and saw the face of...her guard._

Licia jolted awake and almost screamed.

"Sorry, lady," said the guard, although he looked anything but sorry. "Your lawyer wants to talk to you."

Licia nodded. "All..all right."

Phoenix didn't like to be kept waiting. Especially not by his clients. Especially not when said clients hadn't been entirely honest with him about their cases.

He drummed his fingers on the table while he waited and thought of what he'd found. _Almond extract in her vanity, with the victim being allergic to almonds. That break-up note in her trash. The rumors about her cheating husband. She'd better have a good explanation for this. _

Licia shuffled into the visitor's area and smiled slightly. She looked less frazzled than she had before, but somehow the circles beneath her eyes seemed more pronounced. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be back, so I took a nap."

Phoenix crossed his arms "Ms. Puccini. I don't think you've been entirely honest with me."

Her brow furrowed. "Oh?"

"I've heard...rumors about your relationship with your husband."

Licia leaned back in her chair. "I see. Are you going to ask me what you heard or are you just going to assume things?" She frowned, her grey eyes narrowed into slits.

"Let me finish," Phoenix said. "We found...some things in your dressing room. Ms. Puccini, you have to be very honest with me, because the prosecution is going to use everything it can to prove you killed your husband."

Licia grew even paler. "Tell me what you heard."

Phoenix told her everything that he had heard about how young Licia had been when she'd gotten married, about the fact that her marriage was arranged, the age difference between herself and her husband, and about the rumors of her husband's affairs. He thought of mentioning the rumor he'd heard about her son, but decided not to bring it up.

"Who did you hear this from?" The color had returned to Licia's face, somewhat. Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Miss...uh, Angelica."

Licia chuckled. "She's a real gossiphound, that one."

"How much of it is true?" asked Phoenix.

"Most of it," Licia admitted. She flipped some of her hair off of her shoulders. "The marriage was arranged, and we did marry when I was seventeen. My parents are very wealthy, you know. They own a massive media corporation. And Luciano wasn't just a genius singer...he owned a pretty successful classical record label."

Licia took a deep breath and looked down. "So my father's company decided they were going to merge with Luciano's..."

"And they used you to seal the deal?"

"Yes," Licia said, so quietly Phoenix almost didn't hear her. "But it wasn't like...it wasn't anything bad. He never...behaved inappropriately toward me. He was a close friend and mentor of mine before my parents even brought the marriage up. It's the only reason I agreed. And...we loved each other."

"Then why did he cheat on you?" Phoenix blurted. He winced when the words left his mouth. He hadn't meant to be so blunt.

Licia recoiled as thought Phoenix had hit her."I don't know," she said, "Does anyone ever know why the people they love hurt them?" Tears welled up in her eyes. She swallowed and spoke slowly in a voice thick with emotion. "He's never been unfaithful before. If he had been, I still wouldn't have killed him for it. I loved him too much for that. We...we would have worked it out."

Phoenix remembered the note he'd found in her trash just then. He pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to Licia. "We found this in the wastebasket next to your vanity."

She slowly read it. A look of confusion spread across her face.

"I've never seen this before," she said, finally. She set her jaw in a way that was almost defiant, daring Phoenix to challenge her. Phoenix clenched his hand around the magatama and saw a single Psyche-Lock over her heart. _Damn. I knew one of these was going to show up sooner or later._

Phoenix decided to try a different tactic. He didn't think he had evidence to prove that she'd seen it before, but maybe he could find out if the writing on the note was Luciano's. "Is that your husband's handwriting?"

Licia nodded. "Yes, but the date written on it...that's strange. Luci never dated anything."

"I see."

He then showed Licia the bottle of almond extract. "We found this in your vanity."

"Not mine," Licia said bluntly. She frowned heavily. Confusion shadowed her lovely features. Phoenix couldn't see any Psyche-Locks on her this time.

"Then why would it be in your vanity?"

"To threaten me, maybe?" Licia said with a weak shrug.

"Isn't your husband the one that's allergic to almonds?"

Licia laughed softly. "You're good at your job. But...I am also allergic to almonds. If I so much as touch one I get terrible hives. I can just imagine what would happen to me if I ate anything with almonds in it."

_I see, _Phoenix thought, he opened his mouth to speak, but Licia spoke for him.

"So, you met the illustrious Angelica de Los Angeles, Mr. Wright?"

"I...er, yeah."

"I suppose you want to ask me about her." Licia leaned back in her chair with the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Well, yeah. She doesn't...have a grudge against you, does she?"

Licia looked off to the side. "I don't _think _so, but she's difficult to work with. She's had trouble keeping work because of her attitude. I heard her contract was running out this month, and I'm sure she's desperate to get her contract renewed. I don't think she'd ever be desperate enough for murder, though. That would really put a clinch in her plans to be the next Maria Callas."

Phoenix nodded. "Okay. And we met another lady...Carmen Ghia."

Licia's face lit up. "Oh, Carmen! She's such a light in times like these. She's the one who brought me a change of clothes, and she's taking care of Ben." She smiled. "I'm glad you got to meet her. She's a good friend of the family."

Phoenix was about to ask another question about Carmen when he saw two more Psyche-Locks appear. _If I want the truth I'm going to have to dig it out...but I don't think I have enough evidence to do it, yet._

Phoenix leaned back in his chair and let his mind wander. He couldn't break Licia's Psyche-Locks yet. There had to be something else he could find that could help him with his case. _If I knew how the victim died...wait, that's what I'm missing!_

Phoenix stood up. _I've got to see about getting an autopsy report, _he thought.

"Are you leaving?" Licia asked.

"Yes. I've got to go pick up Luciano's autopsy report..."

"I see." She stood up to leave as well, then paused. "Mr. Wright? Can you tell me who's prosecuting tomorrow?"

_I'm not sure you want to know._

"Bram Pinkerton will be the prosecutor tomorrow," Phoenix said slowly.

As before, Licia's demeanor completely changed. She blanched, then sighed deeply. "I see," she said flatly. "I'm surprised it's not Edgeworth trying to keep that practically perfect win record." A heavy frown weighed down the corners of her lips. She looked down at the floor and bit her lip.

Pearl tugged on Phoenix's sleeve. She'd been quiet as a mouse the whole time Phoenix had been questioning Licia, and now she had a question of her own.

"Mr. Nick, doesn't it seem like she knows Mr. Pinkerton?"

When Phoenix looked to Licia for an answer, he saw five Psyche-Locks guarding her secrets.


	7. Revisiting Edgeworth and Trial Former

_**APRIL 4, HIGH PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE**_

Phoenix wasn't sure how Edgeworth would react to his return, but he needed that autopsy report.

He found Edgeworth at his desk, utterly absorbed in his paperwork. Phoenix noticed that he'd put the photo of the geisha away.

"Uh...Edgeworth...?"

"What do you want, Wright?" He didn't even look up. Irritation colored his voice.

Phoenix slowly walked into the room with Pearl in tow.

"I don't suppose you have an extra copy of Mr. Puccini's autopsy report?"

Edgeworth stopped writing and looked up. "The only copy I have is a preliminary one."

"Huh? Why?" It wasn't like Edgeworth to have an incomplete report, especially not for a high-profile case like this one. Especially not when the trial was the next day.

"The forensics team is waiting for results from their toxicology tests," Edgeworth said coolly.

"Why are they going to the trouble of having toxicology tests done?" Phoenix asked.

Edgeworth sighed and opened up a filing cabinet. He flipped through the files for a moment, and then pulled one from out of a drawer.

"This is Mr. Puccini's initial autopsy report. I suggest you read it carefully, Wright. Everything will be made clear." Edgeworth smiled wryly and thrust the report into Phoenix's hands.

Phoenix took the report and skimmed through it.

_One stab wound in the chest. Narrowly missed the victim's heart. Moderate blood loss. Cause of death: Uncertain, as the stab wound alone was not severe enough to cause death. Estimated time of death: 8:45 P.M._

"I ordered toxicology tests to be run because the victim should, in theory, have lived," Edgeworth said when Phoenix looked up. "I want to be sure I'm not missing anything. The autopsy report should be updated in time for court tomorrow." He shrugged. "Pinkerton wasn't very happy. He was hoping the autopsy report would be ready today."

"Thanks, Edgeworth," Phoenix said. He looked back at the report and wondered if he could even use it in court. Then he sighed and handed it back to Edgeworth.

"Are you ready to face Pinkerton tomorrow?" Edgeworth asked. He almost smiled.

Phoenix shrugged. "I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to it."

"You should know that he is ruthless and relentless," Edgeworth warned. "When his mind is made up, nothing short of an act of God will change it."

_Wonderful, _Phoenix thought. _He's already convinced that Licia is guilty. He's not going to pull any punches tomorrow._

"He wasn't always...like this," Edgeworth said after a moment. "It wasn't until we graduated from law school—"

"You went to law school with Pinkerton?" Phoenix asked.

Edgeworth nodded. "He was the only other American student at the university in Germany I studied at. He was a little older than I was and he...well, he tried to take me under his wing." Edgeworth smiled wistfully.

Phoenix only nodded. _It's getting late. I better get home and get Pearls to bed. _

"Well, thanks anyway, Edgeworth," Phoenix said.

Edgeworth nodded. "Good night, Wright. And good luck."

Phoenix left the High Prosecutor's office and headed home. He'd find a way to turn the trial around and get the truth. He had to, for the sake of Licia's son.

* * *

_**APRIL 5- DISTRICT COURT, DEFENDANT LOBBY NO. 2**_

While Phoenix waited for Licia to brought over from the detention center, he went over the evidence again in his mind. He'd had a look at the prosecution's evidence, which included a love letter to Luciano from his mysterious mistress, the murder weapon, and the costume Licia had been wearing that night. Both the gloves and the costume were white and pristine. Something about that bothered Phoenix, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Luciano's toxicology reports weren't finished yet, but Phoenix didn't care. _It probably wouldn't have helped anyway._ Phoenix couldn't think of anything that could help him at this point. He found himself wishing that Edgeworth was prosecuting, and not Pinkerton. Edgeworth, at least, was interested in the truth. _I just hope that I can believe in Ms. Puccini. _

"You seem more nervous than usual, Phoenix."

He turned at the sound of the woman's warm, familiar voice. "C-Chief!"

It always took him by surprise when his mentor, Mia Fey, chose to come to court. Mostly because she'd been murdered three years ago. _You'd think I'd be used to Mia showing up more often, since her sister and cousin are both powerful channelers._ Mia was standing in front of him, with her arms folded over her chest. She was dressed in Pearl's kimono and had Pearl's distinctive hairstyle.

_When a Kurain channeler calls a spirit, they take on that spirit's form..._

"Pearl called me," Mia said gently. "You must be in a lot of trouble."

"I am," Phoenix said flatly. He told Mia everything about the case that he had learned so far, and Mia listened with a concerned look on her face.

"Do you believe she's innocent?" Mia asked when Phoenix had finished. She tilted her head slightly, waiting patiently for a response.

"I don't know what to believe," Phoenix admitted. He sighed deeply and shoved his hands in his pockets. "There's a lot of evidence against her. But...she insists that she didn't kill her husband. And she has a little boy that she's completely devoted to. I can't see why she'd kill her husband and let a crowd of people see her do it."

Mia nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. So what do you plan on doing?"

"Believing in her, I suppose."

Mia nodded again, although she retained the concerned look on her face. "That's all that you can do at this point. If she's telling the truth, then someone else is lying."

Two police officers escorted Licia in just then. Licia looked much more calm than she had in the Detention Center. She carried herself with a sense of quiet dignity. She regarded Mia with curiosity for a moment, and then turned her attention to Phoenix.

"Are you ready?" Phoenix asked.

"As ready as anyone in my situation can be," Licia replied with a soft laugh. She looked at Mia again. "Who's this?"

"My...um, aide," Phoenix said.

"I see," Licia said. "She looks an awful lot like the little girl that was with you yesterday."

"Is there anything else you can tell me before the trial starts, Licia?" Phoenix quickly changed the subject.

"I've told you everything I know," Licia said. She shrugged. "Everything is up to you now."


	8. Trial, Day One: Refusal

_**APRIL 5- DISTRICT COURT, COURTROOM NO.2**_

* * *

The usual crowd of noisy spectators was packed in the gallery, and they whispered furiously as Phoenix and Licia entered the courtroom and took their places at the defense bench.

The crowd continued to whisper until the Judge entered the room.

"That judge looks like Santa's evil twin," Licia whispered.

"It's the epic beard," Phoenix said, weakly. He swallowed and looked over at the prosecution's side of the room. Pinkerton stood straight and tall. His handsome face was perfectly blank. The only clue to his mental state that Phoenix could see was that his hair was a little more unkempt than it had been yesterday. _So something about this case is bothering him, too. _

When the Judge was satisfied that everyone was in place, he slammed down his gavel.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Licia Puccini. Is the prosecution ready?"

Pinkerton nodded. "The prosecution is ready, Your Honor."

The Judge turned his attention to Phoenix. "Is the defense ready?"

Phoenix nodded. "The defense is ready, Your Honor."

"Good. Let's begin with the prosecution's opening statement."

A hush fell over the entire courtroom, as everyone leaned in to hear Pinkerton's opening statement.

"Two nights ago," Pinkerton began, "An innocent man was brazenly murdered by his own wife in front of a crowd full of people. We have decisive witnesses. We have decisive evidence."

"Probably forged, if he's working with Edgeworth," Licia muttered. Pinkerton narrowed his brown eyes and fixed her with a cold stare.

_Great. He heard her._

"We will prove, without a doubt, that Mr. Puccini could only have been killed by his wife." Pinkerton bowed deeply.

Phoenix found himself wanting to strangle him.

The judge nodded, satisfied with the opening statement. "You may call your first witness, Mr. Pinkerton."

"The prosecution calls the defendant, Licia Puccini, to the stand."

Licia stood slowly and made her way to the stand. She carried herself with the thoughtless grace of a queen and held her head high.

"Your name and occupation, Defendant," Pinkerton said.

Licia gave him a sidelong glance, but said nothing. Pinkerton's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Your name and occupation," he repeated in a voice that was almost a growl.

"I heard you the first time, Mr. Pinkerton," Licia said coolly. She did not even turn her head in his direction. "Licia Puccini. Opera singer."

"Ms. Puccini," Pinkerton said, "Is it true that your marriage to your husband was arranged when you were just seventeen, and that you eloped despite the fact that your marriage was already arranged?"

"Yes."

"And is it true that your son was born just six months after your wedding?"

Phoenix winced. _Ugh, it's almost like this is personal! __**Does **__he have some kind of vendetta against Ms. Puccini?_

"Also true." Licia's face bore no expression. She stared straight ahead and breathed deeply.

"Mr. Pinkerton," interrupted the Judge, "How is this relevant?"

Pinkerton bowed slightly. "I am merely establishing her motive."

"I'm not sure that I follow you, Mr. Pinkerton," the Judge said. He blinked a few times.

"Your Honor, don't you think it's strange that they would have eloped...and had a child six months later?"

"Plenty of people have premature babies," replied the Judge. His expression was one of utter incomprehension. "I don't think her marriage and child are at all relevant to her motive."

Pinkerton sighed. "I'll be blunt. Their wedding was clearly a shotgun wedding. There are no records of the baby having spent the extensive time in the hospital that a baby born three months early would require."

"So what you're saying is that the defendant gave birth to an exceptionally healthy premature baby?" The Judge looked down at Licia with a bemused look in his eyes and thoughtfully stroked his beard.

Licia stifled a laugh.

Phoenix buried his head in his hands. _Your Honor, are you this obtuse on purpose?_

"No, Your Honor," Pinkerton said with an exasperated sigh. "I'm saying that the defendant was trapped into the responsibilities of motherhood and an arranged marriage to a man thirteen years her senior when she was just seventeen. It's only natural that she might resent him."

"Prove I resented him," Licia said. "Where's your evidence?" She glanced at Pinkerton's side of the room for the first time, then turned her head away and set her jaw in that defiant way she had at the Detention Center.

Phoenix groaned. _Isn't that my line?_

Pinkerton gritted his teeth and continued on. "In our investigation, we learned that Mr. Puccini had been carrying on an affair since the beginning of this year. We found a love letter from Mr. Puccini's mistress laying on Ms. Puccini's vanity."

Phoenix shot a glare at Licia. "You should have told me!" he mouthed.

Licia shrugged, as if to say "You never asked."

"Is something wrong, Mr. Wright?" the Judge asked. He blinked a few times.

"Um, no. Nothing at all, Your Honor!" Phoenix leaned back and nervously scratched his neck, grinning widely. _Oh man. _

The Judge turned his attention back to Pinkerton. "So you're saying that the defendant's motive for murder was because her husband was unfaithful?"

"I believe that Mr. Puccini's unfaithfulness was what finally set her off," Pinkerton said.

_There's something odd about the way he said that, _Phoenix thought, _something about the word unfaithful._

Pinkerton returned his attention to Licia. "Testify about the night of the murder."

For the first time, Licia turned and looked him in the eye. "No."

Pinkerton winced as though she'd slapped him, then quickly regained his composure. "You must testify."

Licia shook her head. "Mr. Pinkerton, I don't have to do anything except pay taxes and die. As of right now, I am exercising my right to refuse to testify." She folded her arms over her chest and turned away from the prosecution's side of the room.

The crowd immediately began to talk amongst themselves.

"She must be guilty!"

"Look how smug she is!"

"Mommy, why won't she talk?"

The judge quickly banged his gavel on the podium. "Order! Order!" He looked down at Licia.

"If you refuse to testify now, you will waive your right to testify again. Are you absolutely certain that you want to refuse to testify?"

"That's fine," Licia said. She glanced at Pinkerton. "I hope you weren't planning on my being your decisive witness."

Phoenix could only stare at her in mute horror.

"O-objection!" he shouted. He was suddenly aware of the uncomfortable sensation of every single eye in the courtroom being fixed on him. "I object!" He focused on Licia. "Ms. Puccini. Please. Please testify."

She shook her head. "No." Without another word, she left the stand and returned to her seat.

Phoenix wanted to pound his head into the desk.

"Phoenix, don't panic," Mia said gently. "The prosecution will have another witness. Besides, I'm not sure that your client's testimony would have helped your case." She gently touched his arm and gave him a reassuring smile. "Pinkerton might have been planning to set a trap for you with her testimony."

_Probably true, _Phoenix thought. _I should get ready for the next witness. _

"The prosecution calls Don Octave to the stand."

_Oh joy, _Phoenix thought, _The Stoned Maestro comes to court._

Don Octave was wearing what must have been his best tuxedo. He'd even shaped his moustache with wax and slicked back his black hair. All eyes were on him, and he was loving every minute of it.

"Witness," Pinkerton said, "State your name and profession."

Don Octave paid him no mind. He was blowing kisses to the pretty women watching the trial, and then he noticed Mia.

"You are bearing a strong resemblance to Signor Attorney's charming daughter!"

"Witness. Name. Occupation." Pinkerton's voice was a low, dangerous growl. Licia's unwillingness to wander into what was undoubtedly a trap had clearly struck a nerve. Phoenix would have smiled if he had taken a less hopeless case.

"Ah, you are talking to me, yes?" Don Octave grinned broadly at Pinkerton.

"Yes." Pinkerton's hands were balled into tight fists. He was breathing slowly and deeply. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Who else would I be talking to?"

Phoenix frowned. _He's about to lose it already. If I turn this case around, he's probably going to go berserk!_

"I am Don Octave, the maestro!" Octave said. He bowed with a flourish. He opened his mouth to speak but Pinkerton quickly cut him off.

"Please, just testify about the night of the murder. That's all you're here to do."

"As you wish."

Octave cleared his throat. "I have difficult job, you know. I must watch both the music and the action onstage. That night, everything was going perfectly, as it would with two pros like the Puccinis. I didn't see the exact moment of stabbing. In fact I didn't know anything was wrong until Signora Licia started screaming for me to stop the orchestra."

"Hold it!" Phoenix cried. "Why did she want you to stop the orchestra?"

"Well, because Luci had just been stabbed!"

"How did you know he'd been stabbed?" Phoenix pressed.

Pinkerton shook his head. "You're grasping, Firebird." Then he returned his attention to Octave. "Tell the court what you did next."

Octave happily obliged. "I stopped the orchestra and climbed onstage, and there was Signora Licia kneeling over poor Luci. Poor Luci was laying on his side and he had the dagger sticking out of his chest. He was talking nonsense, babbling about being able to fly and the moon! Licia rolled him over onto his back and kept crying for help. She also was very hard trying to pull dagger out. There was blood everywhere! It was extremely morbid sight."

"Why did she do that?" asked Phoenix.

"Do what?" Octave blinked a few times.

"Try to pull the dagger out."

"This is irrelevant!" said Pinkerton. He shook his head, then smirked.

"I have to agree with Mr. Pinkerton," said the Judge. "I can't see why her trying to pull the dagger out of Mr. Puccini's chest is important."

_There's something about this testimony that doesn't add up, _Phoenix thought. He decided to try a different tactic.

"So there was blood everywhere?"

"Well, yes," Octave said. "Stabbings are messy, yes?"

"Tell us about what happened after you climbed onstage," Pinkerton interrupted.

Phoenix glared at Pinkerton. _Something's wrong with this testimony, and he knows it as well as I do._

Octave nodded. "There was ginormous crowd gathering onstage so when the lady who tried to help poor Luciano climbed onstage I pulled Licia away and asked what happened, and she was crying, saying she has no idea, and talking abour Luciano having a fever! Then the first aid lady said that poor Luci was dead! Only Signora Licia could have done it! She had perfect opportunity to take real dagger during intermission! Who knew such delicate flower could be so savage?" Octave wrung his hands and chewed on his bottom lip.

Phoenix thought back to what Carmen had said about the daggers. _Let's see, there's a matching set of four...and one was missing the night before the murder._

"Objection!"

"Why the objecton, Signor Attorney? I am thinking my testimony was perfect!" Octave smoothed one side of his moustache with a finger.

"When did you say that Ms. Puccini took the real dagger?" Phoenix asked.

"Why, during intermission! It was fifteen minutes long! Plenty of time for bathroom break and stealing of props!" Octave smoothed his hair and grinned a little too widely.

"I think you're wrong," Phoenix said simply. He presented the notes he'd taken about the daggers yesterday. "Your assistant says that one of the real daggers was missing the night _before _the murder. Ms. Puccini couldn't have taken one during the intermission."

Octave winced, then immediately regained his composure. "So she took it night before. She simply switched the trick dagger for the real one before the second act. Trick dagger is missing, still."

Pinkerton drummed his fingers on the bench. "Are you quite finished, Mr. Wright?"

"Would you mind adding that to your testimony?" Phoenix asked, ignoring Pinkerton.

Octave patiently obliged. "She stole prop day before murder and traded them at intermission."

Phoenix looked over at Mia. Her brow was furrowed. Phoenix knew that expression. She was trying figure out where to go next.

"I don't think that pressing him about the daggers is going to get us anywhere," she said. "There isn't anything solid there for us to hold on to."

"What do you suggest, Mia?"

She narrowed her eyes. "There's something about some of the prosecution's evidence that's bothering me."

"You, too?"

She nodded. "Ask him about what he saw when he climbed onstage again."

_I think I know what she's getting at._

"Right." Phoenix returned his attention to Octave. "Mr...uh, Maestro, you said that when you climbed onstage you saw my client kneeling by Mr. Puccini's body and trying to pull the dagger out of his chest."

"That is precise-zactly what I was seeing then," Octave said.

"Objection!" Pinkerton snapped. "We've been over this. Would you like to explain why you're wasting the court's time with this redundant line of questioning?"

The Judge nodded. "The prosecution has a point. Do you see any reason to continue with this line of questioning, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix nodded. "I see a very good reason to continue."

Pinkerton snorted. "Whatever."

Phoenix returned his attention to Octave. "You said that you saw lots of blood when you saw my client kneeling beside the victim."

"Of course I was seeing lots of blood! Poor Luci was being stabbed in his heart!"

"Objection!" Pinkerton banged his hand on the bench. "It's obvious that the victim would be bleeding. He was just stabbed!"

"Objection!" Phoenix retorted, "There's something fishy about his testimony!"

"And what would that be?" Pinkerton slammed his hands flat on his desk and looked at Phoenix through narrowed eyes. Some of his brown hair fell into his eyes and Pinkerton tossed his head to move it.

"I'm afraid I don't follow your logic either," the Judge interjected. "It seems obvious to me that there would be blood everywhere. Are you suggesting that the witness is lying?" The Judge's eyes were wide with disbelief.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting!" Phoenix banged his palms against his desk and glared at Octave.

Octave hunched over in his seat, wringing his hands.

"I am not lying! I am telling whole truth!" He glared at Phoenix. "Prove I'm lying! Prove I didn't see that Signora committed murder!"

_I got your proof right here, buddy._

"There was something in the evidence that struck me as odd," Phoenix said slowly, "But I think it proves that my client is the one person who _couldn't _have stabbed the victim."

"And what would _that _be?" Pinkerton growled. "You'd better make it good, Mr. Firebird."

Phoenix presented Licia's costume. "Ladies and gentlemen of the court...this is the costume that my client was wearing on the night of the murder."

"I don't see anything unnormal about it," Octave protested. He was wringing his hands at a fervent pace and chewing on his lower lip.

"You don't? Didn't you say that stabbings are messy, Maestro?"

"Well, they are!" Octave started knotting his fingers in his hair.

"And didn't you say that my client was trying to pull the dagger out of the victim's chest?"

"Sh-she was!"

"Then why isn't there any blood on her costume? It's white, so blood would certainly be visible." Phoenix said. "I'd like for you to take an especially close look at the gloves," he continued, "Those should have the most blood on them of all, shouldn't they? Especially if she was trying to pull the knife from the victim's chest. But they're as clean as the day they were made."

Octave fainted, falling to the ground with a heavy thud. Pinkerton slumped over his desk and balled his fists. His jaw was clenched so tightly that Phoenix feared he would break his teeth. The spectators immediately began murmuring amongst themselves. Their words swelled from whispers to a dull roar of speculation.

"Order! Order! Order!" The Judge punctuated each word with a pound of his gavel. "Mr. Wright, let me see those gloves."

Phoenix handed the gloves to the judge.

"M-my word! There isn't a drop of blood on them." He looked at Phoenix, wide-eyed. "She really couldn't have done it..."

The Judge looked from Phoenix to Pinkerton. "I think I can declare a verdict just based on this."

_Don't get your hopes up, Phoenix. Wait for it...wait for it..._

"Objection!"

_There it is._

The Judge blinked a few times. "What is your objection, Mr. Pinkerton? The evidence seems clear to me."

Licia nudged Phoenix. "Does the Judge always look this confused?"

_You have no idea, _Phoenix thought.

Pinkerton bowed deeply. "Your Honor, I have another witness I would like to call forward. She saw the entire incident. I believe she can shed more light on what happened." He straightened, and folded his arms across his chest. "Besides, it would make a mockery of justice if we did not hear her out!"

"Objection!" Phoenix wasn't about to let the trial drag on without a fight. "It's been proven that my client couldn't have stabbed him!"

The Judge shook his head. "If there are witnesses, it is our duty to hear them. There will be a ten minute recess while the prosecution prepares the next witness."

Phoenix's spirit sank as the Judge's gavel descended. _Why do you always do that, Your Honor?_

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry about the long delay! Real life has been sucking for me lately. I'm going to upload one more chapter today, just as an apology for not updating for so long. Thanks for reading (and for the nice reviews!)**  
_


	9. Trial, Day One: Unexpected Circumstances

_**APRIL 5- PROSECUTION'S LOBBY NO. 2**_

_Well, that went better than expected. _Edgeworth thought as he left the gallery and walked into the Prosecution's lobby.

"Why do you look so pleased?" Pinkerton snapped. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"I'm not on anyone's _side_," Edgeworth countered. "If anything, I'm on the truth's side."

"So, my side then," Pinkerton said. He flipped his hair out of his eyes.

Edgeworth sighed and shook his head.

"I can't believe she didn't testify," Pinkerton grumbled. "Wright must have told her not to..."

Edgeworth shook his head. "Why would Wright have objected if that were the case?"

Pinkerton shook his head. "Whatever." He groaned and flipped through Octave's testimony. "The only part of this they even kept was the part that mentioned that the victim was delirious. Damned useless."

He shrugged. "Whatever. I'm going to go prepare the next witness." Pinkerton turned and walked away without another word.

"Mr. Edgeworth, that's some trial!" Edgeworth turned around and half-smiled at the familiar, scruffy detective in front of him. Dick Gumshoe had always reminded Edgeworth of a rather clumsy, dim Saint Bernard that was loveable in spite of its shortcomings.

"Gumshoe," he said. "We aren't done here."

Gumshoe nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I want you to go to forensics and check on the victim's autopsy report."

"Right away, sir!" Gumshoe turned and almost started running for the door.

"Gumshoe, _wait!_"

Gumshoe skidded to a halt, slid on the polished floor, and crashed head-on into a statue of Lady Justice. He staggered to his feet and rubbed his head.

Edgeworth rolled his eyes. _Oh, Gumshoe. _

"Do you remember that woman who claimed to have tried to administer first aid on the victim?" Edgeworth asked when Gumshoe had recovered.

"Sure do, pal. What's her name again...Sarah Bellum?"

Edgeworth nodded and pulled a stack of papers from out of a folder he'd been holding. "After you get done at forensics, go to the address she gave and give her this." He handed the papers to Gumshoe.

"Wh-what's this?"

"It's a _subpoena ad testificandum,_" Edgeworth said. Almost as soon as he said it, he realized he'd made a mistake in using the Latin term. Gumshoe was looking at him with an expression that reminded him of a lost, confused puppy.

"That sounds dirty." Gumshoe blinked and nervously scratched the back of his neck.

Edgeworth sighed. "It's just an order for her to come testify. I don't want to leave any aspect of this case unexplored."

Gumshoe grinned widely and nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Uh...sir, can I ask why you're so gung-ho about this case?"

"More than anything else, I want the truth," Edgeworth said plainly. "There are...things that bother me about this." _There are unnecessary feelings bubbling to the surface. The truth will set me free._

Gumshoe nodded. "You can count on me, sir!" He turned and hurried to the door.

_And don't bungle this, _Edgeworth added, silently. He leaned against the wall and sighed deeply.

_Licia. Pinkerton. I never thought I'd see you again. Certainly not like this. _His mind began to race, but Edgeworth refused to allow the memories to come through. _No. I will forget. I **will **forget._

A bailiff gently tapped his shoulder. "Mr. Edgeworth, court will resume in five minutes. I have to ask you to return to your seat in the galleries."

Edgeworth only nodded. He still hadn't gotten used to saying "thank you". His mind was elsewhere, anyway.

"Pinkerton," Edgeworth said, "Before you go...I've sent Gumshoe to get a couple of things."

* * *

_**APRIL 5- DISTRICT COURT, COURTROOM NO. 2**_

_I have an idea about who this next witness is, _Phoenix thought, _and I'm not going to like it._

"What's the matter, Phoenix?" Mia asked.

"I'm just not looking forward to the next witness."

Licia opened her mouth to say something when the Judge brought his gavel down.

"Court is now in session. The prosecution may call their next witness."

Pinkerton nodded. "The prosecution calls Angelica de Los Angeles to the stand."

_Called it._

Angelica looked even more smug than she usually did. She'd piled her bleach-blond curls high on top of her head, had dressed in an expensive pink suit, and had toned down her makeup for court. She sat at the stand and giggled like a giddy schoolgirl.

_Legally blonde, much? _Phoenix thought.

"State your name and occupation," Pinkerton said slowly. He seemed to have completely recovered from earlier in the trial. He even looked a little...smug.

"Angelica de Los Angeles. Primadonna." Angelica giggled and struck a pose.

_You got that right, _Phoenix thought.

"Miss...er...witness, please tell the court what happened," said Pinkerton.

"Gladly!" She winked at Pinkerton, fluffed her curls, and began her testimony.

"Just so you know, I'm in the chorus when I'm not singing a mainstage role. Anyway, I was downstairs in the dressing room I shared with Licia," she said slowly. "I was touching up my makeup and watching the monitors."

"Why were you doing that?" Phoenix interjected.

"Well, I wanted to see what was going on, of course."

_Well, that's not really—wait. Something doesn't add up._

"Go on," Pinkerton urged, casting a dark glare in Phoenix's direction.

"It got to the part where Mr. Puccini's character is stabbed. When I saw her stabbing him I ran upstairs and onto the stage. I called the police as soon as I got onstage."

"You were watching from the monitors?" Phoenix asked.

Angelica nodded. "Duh! It's really hot backstage so it makes sense to be in the dressing rooms. They're cooler."

"I find that hard to believe," Phoenix said flatly.

"You should spend some time onstage, then," Angelica giggled.

Phoenix winced. "Th-that's not what I meant!" he stammered. "I mean, it's hard for me to believe that you were watching from the monitors."

"Do you have evidence that she wasn't, Mr. Wright?" asked the Judge. "If you're just grasping for straws, I'll have to penalize you."

Phoenix shook his head. "I have proof."

Pinkerton snorted.

Phoenix ignored him and looked Angelica straight in the eye. "Miss...witness," he said slowly. "You couldn't have been watching on the monitors."

"Why do you say that, Lawyer?" Angelica's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"I spoke with the assistant yesterday. She said that the monitors broke last week. They were still broken as of yesterday."

Angelica didn't flinch. "So I was watching from backstage."

Phoenix winced. "Why did you lie?" _Urk, she didn't even break a sweat!_

"Does it matter?" she countered. "I still saw the stabbing."

"Why don't you tell us about the stabbing?" Pinkerton said. He shot a dark look in Phoenix's direction. "The way in which she saw the stabbing is not especially important."

_He's in a hurry, _Phoenix thought._ He's trying to stop me from catching her in a lie that'll hurt his case. But what lie is it?_

"Of course," Angelica said. "I was watching the second act from backstage. When she stabbed him, I knew something was wrong, so I ran onstage and called the police."

"How did you know something was wrong?" Phoenix pressed.

"Luciano had a line he was supposed to sing after his character was stabbed," Angelica said. "He didn't sing it."

_It seems pretty solid..._

"Press harder, Phoenix," Mia urged. "There's something that seems out of place, still." She narrowed her eyes and frowned at Angelica.

_She's right...but what is it that's out of place? I need to think crazy._

"So you called the police as soon as you got onstage and saw Luciano laying there?" Phoenix asked.

"That's right." Angelica grinned from ear to ear. "It was my civic duty!"

Phoenix found himself repressing the urge to slap that stupid, smug grin off of Angelica's face. _I guess she's just really on the ball, but why is her testimony still bothering me?_ _Wait. I think I know what's wrong with this picture._

"Witness! Why did you call the police?" Phoenix pointed at Angelica.

"Objection! Her reason for calling the police should be quite obvious!" Pinkerton slammed his palm against his desk. "You're grasping again!"

"I'm afraid I have to side with the prosecution on this one," the Judge said. "Is there someone else she should have called instead of the police?"

Phoenix shook his head. "It's not about calling someone else. The problem is _something that Miss Angelica knew._"

"Oh?" The Judge looked down at Phoenix with his familiar, stupefied expression. He blinked a few times.

"What I'm curious about," Phoenix said, directing his attention back at Angelica, "is how you could have known that a crime had taken place."

"I _saw _her stab him!" Angelica protested.

"But you couldn't have known if the victim had really been stabbed," said Phoenix.

"Of course I could have! He was bleeding!"

Phoenix shook his head. "Another witness said the same thing earlier today. But...you couldn't have known that the victim had been fatally stabbed by my client while you were watching from backstage."

"And why not, Porcupine-Head?" Angelica glared daggers at him. She was starting to sweat a little.

_Ah, _Phoenix thought, allowing himself to smile, _I'm beginning to feel the satisfaction of watching a liar break down._

Phoenix showed Angelica the costume Licia had been wearing that night. "This is my client's costume. As you can see, there's no blood to be found anywhere on it."

Angelica squeaked, nearly fell off the stand, and started chewing on her perfectly-manicured nails. "Th-I-I-I...it could have been washed!"

"I don't think so," Phoenix said. He was enjoying every minute of Angelica's frantic backpedaling. "The police took the costume as evidence as soon as my client was arrested. So, I'll ask you again: If you called the police, how did you know that a crime had been committed? Why didn't you call an ambulance?"

"I...I...arrrgh!" Angelica chewed on her nails more frantically.

"I think," Phoenix said, "That you set my client up."

As if on cue, the crowd in the galleries started frantically talking amongst themselves. The Judge immediately banged his gavel on the podium and the crowd quieted down, with only a few people whispering back and forth.

"Order in the court!" He glared down at Phoenix when the crowd had settled down. "If you're making baseless conjectures, Wright, you will be severely penalized. Why would the witness do something like that?"

_I've got to tread carefully here. _

"Witness," Phoenix said, "Is it true that your contract was going to run out this month?"

Angelica nodded. Her makeup was running down her face now. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"You would have everything to gain from getting Licia out of your way."

"I..I..." Angelica opened her mouth, then closed it. She took a deep breath. "I..."

_She's going to admit it. Finally, we're getting somewhere-_

"Hold it!"

The air fell silent as the focus of everyone in the courtroom turned to the man who had just barged in through the doors.

"Detective Gumshoe! Court is in session!" The Judge glared at the detective.

"I-I'm sorry Your Honor! R-really! But this is an emergency!"

"Make it quick, then," the Judge warned. Gumshoe nodded and turned his attention to Pinkerton.

"Sir. I have the report from forensics." He handed Pinkerton the updated autopsy report.

"You barged in here for _that?_" Pinkerton's were narrowed into slits and . "You know, Miles and I were just talking about raising your salary...but I think maybe we'll leave it as-is."

"That's not all, sir!" Gumshoe nervously scratched his neck. "That witness Edgeworth wanted me to sub...sub...anyway, I went to her house to serve her the papers and..."

"Was she not home? Or did you go to the wrong house?" Pinkerton's face had turned a shade of deep red that Phoenix had never seen before. He was clutching his sleeves so tightly that his knuckles were white. He took deep breaths and bit down on his lip in what Phoenix assumed was Pinkerton's very best effort to keep himself from flying off the handle.

"N-no!" Gumshoe stammered, "The Sarah Bellum living at the address you gave me has been dead for five years!"

The crowd in the galleries went wild. The Judge's attempts at restoring order went in vain. Finally, the bailiffs had to start removing people from the courtroom. Some went quietly, but others protested.

When the crowd had at last settled down, the Judge closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to suspend this trial until tomorrow," he said after a few moments of tense silence. "I'm not convinced that the defendant is innocent. But I am also not convinced that she is guilty." He looked from Pinkerton to Phoenix and back again. "I want for each of you to investigate as thoroughly as is possible. And Mr. Pinkerton..."

"Y-yes, Your Honor?" Pinkerton stammered.

"I want the prosecution to focus on finding the true identity of this...missing witness."

Pinkerton nodded. "Leave it to me."


	10. Trial Latter and Investigation

_**APRIL 5- DISTRICT COURT, DEFENDANT'S LOBBY NO. 2**_

"What a spirited defense! I knew I could count on you!" Licia was overjoyed. Her step was lighter than it had been before, and she was even smiling.

_In fact, this is quite possibly the happiest that I've ever seen her._

"We're not out of the woods yet," Phoenix cautioned.

"But you've proven that I didn't, no, more importantly, that I couldn't have stabbed him. That's a step in the right direction." She smiled warmly.

"If you want to look at it that way." _Why can't I ever have easy, straightforward cases?_

"I know you can get to the bottom of this," Licia said. "I believe in you, Mr. Wright."

_I hope I can believe in you, too, Ms. Puccini._

* * *

_**APRIL 5- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS**_

When Gumshoe had announced in court that the witness he had tried to summon was dead, Edgeworth's initial instinct was to assume that a mistake was made, so he went to the address himself and was greeted with the same news. Sarah Bellum was dead. Had been for five years. So Edgeworth and Pinkerton decided to visit the Department of Vital Statistics to see if they could piece together the identity of the missing witness.

"I'll look for newspaper clippings," Pinkerton said.

Edgeworth nodded. "If you think it'll help." Honestly, it seemed like Pinkerton just wanted to do the bare minimum. Or that he was hoping to not find anything that could damage his case against Licia.

"Bram, wait," Edgeworth said.

Pinkerton regarded him with a look of curiosity. "Hmm?"

"Why did you take this case?"

Pinkerton shrugged. "I told you, Miles, it's personal."

"Just vengeance does not call for punishment," Edgeworth replied, giving Pinkerton a cryptic, knowing smile.

Pinkerton chuckled. "Pierre Corneille." He folded his arms across his chest and looked down. "Tomorrow will give us something to think about."

"Cicero," Edgeworth said. He sighed. It had been a game between them, once, to guess the author of a famous quote, but he couldn't find any joy in it today. Truth be told, he was a little frustrated with his colleague's bullheadedness. "Well. Go look for newspaper clippings. I'll call if I find something, and I'm sure you'll do the same."

Pinkerton nodded and left without saying a word.

Edgeworth stared at the wall of filing cabinets in front of him and tried to figure out where to start. He supposed that the row of cabinets labelled "Death Certificates: 2010-2015" might be a good place. _It would be a good idea to make sure that this Sarah Bellum is really dead. _Edgeworth still wasn't entirely certain that Gumshoe hadn't botched something.

He pulled open the cabinet marked "A-F" and started rifling through. After a few minutes, he found a folder marked "Bellum, Sarah."

_Good, so she really is dead. Or, at least, **a **Sarah Bellum is dead._

He pulled out the folder, closed the drawer, and took the death certificate from the file. He nodded with some slight satisfaction upon seeing that the address listed for this Sarah Bellum was the same as the one he'd given to Gumshoe.

_Date of death: August 12, 2014. Age: Forty-two. Cause of death: Blood loss from severed artery in the neck. Suicide probable.__Location of death: Los Angeles, Rivera Theatre._

Edgeworth had to read that part again. _She died at the same theatre that this murder took place in! _

He carefully set down Sarah Bellum's death certificate, pulled out his phone, and called Gumshoe. He waited through about two minutes of ringing before Gumshoe answered his phone. _He must have misplaced it. _He heard the distinctive click of the phone being answered, then a clatter and a muffled curse.

"M-Mr. Edgeworth! Sorry I didn't answer sooner! I misplaced my phone! And then I dropped it!"

"No matter," Edgeworth said. "I found Sarah Bellum's death certificate." He explained to Gumshoe that she had died in the Rivera Theatre. "Gumshoe. I want you to find every police report that you can about this case and bring it to City Hall. I'll be waiting."

"Y-yes, sir!" Gumshoe hung up. Edgeworth held his phone for a moment. _Wright should know about this. _He started dialing, then stopped. _Wait. Not until I get all of the facts.  
_So Edgeworth dialed Pinkerton's number instead. "Bram. I need you to look for newspaper clippings about a death at Rivera Theatre from August of 2014. Yes, it has everything to do with our mysterious witness."

* * *

_**APRIL 5- WRIGHT AND CO. LAW OFFICE**_

Phoenix had decided to take a nap after the trial. _I'll have plenty of time to investigate. I just need some rest. _He leaned back in his desk chair and closed his eyes.

He was somewhat annoyed to find his nap cut short by an insistent tugging at his sleeve. He opened his eyes halfway and found Pearl tugging at his sleeve.

"Can it wait, Pearls?" He gently pulled her hand away from his sleeve and closed his eyes. _Just a few more minutes._

"Mr. Nick, it's important!"

"There's leftover Chinese in the mini fridge if you're hungry," Phoenix mumbled.

"That's not it! I remembered about the flowers!" Pearl sighed with exasperation.

"What flowers?"

"The ones in Mr. Puccini's dressing room!"

Phoenix's eyes snapped open. "What?" He looked down at Pearl.

Her eyes blazed with fierce determination.

"Tell me all about it, Pearls."

"Yellow tulips mean 'hopeless love'. And daffodils mean unrequited love!"

"I'm not sure how that's going to help...wait." _There was a card attached to the vase. Who was it from again? _The vase might not help his case, but maybe it could help him break down Licia's Psyche-Locks.

"Let's go back to the theatre."

* * *

_**APRIL 5- RIVERA THEATRE, LUCIANO'S DRESSING ROOM**_

_This dressing room gives me the creeps. _Everything in the room was still just as Luciano had left it.

Pearl boldly walked over to the vase and pulled the card off of it. "Look, Mr. Nick."

Phoenix took the card from Pearl and read it. _Toi, toi, toi! Love, Carmen._

_Hm. Carmen, huh? I wonder if she knew what the flowers she sent meant. _He couldn't imagine the bubbleheaded assistant knowing much about the language of flowers. _She probably just really likes yellow. _Phoenix made a note of the card anyway. _Is there anything else we can find? _He pulled out the map that Gumshoe had given him. He hadn't been to the orchestra pit yet, and he hadn't been to the employee's area yet. _Or the prop loft, for that matter. _

Pearl tugged on his sleeve. "Mr. Nick, there were flowers in Ms. Licia's room, too."

"That's right," Phoenix said, half to himself. "Let's go look at those flowers."

* * *

_**APRIL 5- LICIA'S DRESSING ROOM**_

Phoenix was relieved to find that Angelica was nowhere to be found. Instead, Carmen was cleaning up Licia's side of the room.

"Oh, hi!" she chirped, looking up from her work. "I'm just tidying up. Maestro doesn't think Licia will be back..." Carmen bit her lip and frowned.

"There are still two more days left in this trial," Phoenix said. Carmen sadly shook her head.

"If Maestro tells me to do something, I do it." Carmen nodded as if to make her point, her brown curls bouncing with each nod.

Phoenix looked at her hands. She was holding the vase with the striped carnations in it. Phoenix remembered that there had been a card for Carmen in that vase.

"Can we...see that?"

Carmen shrugged. "Sure."

Phoenix carefully took the vase from her and handed it to Pearl. "What do striped carnations mean, Pearls?"

"Refusal," she said simply.

Carmen blanched. She took an uneasy step back and used Licia's vanity to steady herself.

"Are you all right, Miss Carmen?" Pearl asked.

"I...I'm just not feeling well today, that's all." She grinned widely. "But I gotta work!" She looked at the vase. "They sure are pretty. Regardless of what they mean," She gently picked the vase up and handed it to Pearl. "Why don't you keep it?"

"Really, Miss Carmen?" Pearl bounced up and down with the widest, most sincere smile Phoenix had seen in a long time. "Thank you!"

"Keep this one, too," Carmen said, handing the vase with the white and yellow roses to Phoenix.

_Urk. Where am I going to put these?_

"Thank you very much, Miss Carmen!" Pearl said. "These will look great on your desk, Mr. Nick!"

"Yeah, I guess...so..." Phoenix mumbled.

"Maybe you could send the roses to Mystic Maya!" Pearl said with a glimmer in her eye. "It would be romantic!"

"Oh, do you have a special someone?" Carmen asked with a sly smile.

"I-I...um-" _Arrgh! _

Carmen leaned over and pinched Phoenix's cheek. "It's cute how shy you are!"

"I'm not...we're not...urk!"

Pearl and Carmen both fixed him with a hard glare. It was odd, seeing Carmen with such a serious look on her face.

"You shouldn't take the special people in your life for granted, Phoenix," Carmen said gently.

"I-I'm..." _Arrgh, what do I say to this! _"Pearl, what do the roses mean?" Phoenix asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Um, yellow roses can be an apology and white roses mean eternal love...or silence." Pearl's eyes widened. "You should send them to Mystic Maya! The meaning is perfect!"

"Uh. We'll...talk about that," Phoenix said lamely. Just then, his phone rang. He all but shoved the vase into Carmen's hands and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Wright. Come to City Hall immediately." Phoenix would recognize Edgeworth's clipped, calm voice anywhere.

"W-what's going on?"

"It's about that...missing witness. It might help you-"

"I thought," Phoenix interrupted, "That you couldn't help-"

"I think you will want to see this. Meet me at City Hall's Department of Vital Statistics as soon as possible." _Click._

Phoenix closed his phone and looked down at Pearl. "Edgeworth wants us to meet him at City Hall."

"Why?"

Phoenix shrugged. "He just said to come now."

He took Pearl's free hand and started to lead her out of the dressing room.

"Wait!" called Carmen, "You forgot your flowers!"

* * *

_**APRIL 5- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS**_

Phoenix found Edgeworth and Pinkerton sitting at a table, with a stack of files, folders, and papers in front of them. Pinkerton was leaning back in his seat, and when Phoenix and Pearl were close, he stood up. He eyed the vases that Phoenix and Pearl were carrying and chuckled.

"Flowers? Mr. Firebird, you shouldn't have."

"Th-They're going into my evidence. They were in my client's dressing room."

"I see." An awkward silence filled the space between the two men.

"Don't antagonize him, Bram," Edgeworth sighed. He stood up and took some folders off of the table. He carefully took the vase of roses that Phoenix was holding and set it on the table, then handed the thickest folder to Phoenix.

"Read it."

Pinkerton shook his head. "I'm still not sure I like working with the defense."

"The defense has a right to know," Edgeworth explained.

Phoenix sat down, fumbled with the folder, and pulled out a newspaper clipping.

_August 13, 2014_

_UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT AT FAREWELL PERFORMANCE_

_An opera singer was killed in an accident at the Rivera Theatre's final performance of Madama Butterfly last night. The singer, Sarah Bellum, (aged forty-two) was playing the title role in what was to be her last performance before her retirement. Bellum was killed during the opera's famous finale. She slashed her throat with a real **wakizashi** instead of the blunted one she had been using during the opera's run earlier in the season. Foul play has not been ruled out, and the police have taken the woman in charge of props, Carmen Ghia, in for questioning._

_Augist 14, 2014_

_ARREST MADE IN BELLUM CASE_

_Carmen Ghia, the Octave Opera company's prop mistress, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering fellow company member, Sarah Bellum..._

_August 17, 2014_

_DEATH RULED A SUICIDE, GHIA ACQUITTED_

_Renowned bass-baritone Luciano Puccini testified before the Los Angeles District Court in yesterday's trial. He was able to confirm Ghia's alibi, and he also produced a suicide note written by Bellum. Ghia was acquitted of all charges and Bellum's death was ruled a suicide._

_When questioned by reporters after the trial, Prosecutor Clara diGhiaccio had no comments. _

Phoenix looked up after he'd finished reading.

"I can't help thinking that the incident five years ago is connected, somehow, to this case," Edgeworth said. He scowled and folded his arms over his chest.

"I...would have to agree," Phoenix replied, still taking in what he'd read. "Why didn't you call Carmen Ghia to testify in my client's case?"

Pinkerton answered before Edgeworth had the chance.

"She didn't see the murder as it happened," he said. "Gummy-bear found her in a storage room, sorting through some old props. I thought her testimony would be useless."

_Edgeworth wouldn't have let that happen._

"I see," Phoenix mumbled.

Heavy silence filled the air. They was alone in the Department of Vital Statistics. Pinkerton's brow furrowed. An expression, a cross between deep thought and melancholy that Phoenix couldn't identify cast a shadow over his handsome features. Phoenix looked down at the table and saw an old playbill from the Octave Opera Company's 2014-15 season sitting on it. It seemed out of place.

_Octave Opera Company presents: The Autumn One-Act Festival._ Curious, Phoenix picked it up and read the first page.

_Puccini's immortal classic, **Suor Angelica, **starring world-renowned soprano Licia Puccini in the title role. This is Ms. Puccini's Los Angeles debut..._

There was a photo of Licia in the playbill. Her face was slightly turned away from the camera, and the corners of her mouth turned up in an almost-sad smile.

Phoenix remembered the old photo on Edgeworth's desk. _Could it be?_

"Edgeworth, about that photo that was on your desk..."

"I already said that it was nothing, Wright."

"What photo?" Pinkerton asked.

"The woman in that photo is my client, isn't she?" Phoenix kept his voice as neutral as possible.

"Hey, answer my question!" Pinkerton snapped.

"Wright, I-" Edgeworth gritted his teeth and looked down at the floor.

"You're a bad liar, Edgeworth," Phoenix said with a small laugh.

Pearl tugged on Phoenix's sleeve."The photo I found, Mr. Nick?"

"Yes, Pearl," he said gently. He turned his attention back to Edgeworth, who had turned his head away from Phoenix.

Pinkerton was staring at Edgeworth. "Wait, you still have that, Miles? Licia's picture from...from back then?"

Phoenix eyed Pinkerton with a newfound curiosity. "How do you know about that photo?"

Pinkerton shrugged. "Because I have one just like it."

It took a few minutes for that fact to sink in. And then...it all started to make sense to Phoenix. Why Edgeworth was heading the investigation. Why Pinkerton had flown over from Japan to prosecute.

"You...that first day in court," Phoenix said, "I thought that you had something personal with my client."

"It _is_ personal," Pinkerton said. But his voice had lost its usual hard edge.

"How do you know her? Why are you prosecuting?" Phoenix hoped that he wasn't pressing too hard. The last thing he needed was for Pinkerton to shut down on him.

"I told you, it's personal," Pinkerton grumbled.

Phoenix turned to Edgeworth. "Why are you heading the investigation?"

"I want the truth," Edgeworth said. There was no emotion whatsoever in his voice.

"About what?" Phoenix said, tilting his head slightly.

"...Everything." Edgeworth's shoulders slumped as he took a single deep breath. He leaned back in his seat and sighed.

Pinkerton eyed Edgeworth with curiosity. "But you know the truth. What happened back then."

"Tell me," Phoenix blurted. He mentally kicked himself. It was certainly none of his business. But, then, if Pinkerton was going to blurt it out anyway...

Pinkerton sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well. It might be good to let it out."

Edgeworth only nodded.


	11. Reminiscence: Pinkerton

_**AUGUST 2009- KRANKENWAGON UNIVERSITY LAW LIBRARY, BERLIN**_

* * *

_**A/N: Dear reviewers. I love you. All. Thanks for your support!**_

In 2009, Miles Edgeworth was seventeen years old and in his second year of law school at Vienna's Krankenwagon University. When he wasn't in class, he spent most of his time studying at the law library. There was one table in particular that he liked to study at. It was a relatively long table, set in the back of the library. He liked that table because other students very rarely used it, and he preferred to study alone. He set down the stack of books he'd pulled for his essay at the end of the table, took a seat, and began working.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue—someone walking past. He looked up and found a young man in a blue suit taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. The young man was a year or two older, maybe, with brown hair and eyes, and a handsome face. He pulled a few books out of his bag and started reading.

_How irritating, _Edgeworth thought. He thought about moving, but decided against it. The young man wasn't bothering him. As long as he didn't try to talk with him while he was working like many of the other students wanted to do, he wouldn't have a problem.

They studied seperately for a month when Edgeworth finally tried to speak to the other man.

"Wie heißen Sie?" Edgeworth asked. _What's your name?_ His German was not as good as he would have liked, but it would suffice. He wasn't good at small talk, anyway.

For the first time, the man looked directly at Edgeworth. There was an intelligence in his brown eyes that surprised and intrigued him—he'd noticed a fraternity's symbol on the man's bookbag before and he'd assumed the young man was a partier who sat with Edgeworth to give the impression that he was a hard worker. _Maybe I've judged him wrongly._

"Bram F. Pinkerton." He had a deep voice with an almost cocky tone. Edgeworth recognized his accent as being American right away.

"Warum sitzt du neben mir?" _Why are you sitting beside me?_

Pinkerton shrugged. "Sprechen sie Englisch?"

Edgeworth nodded.

"Oh, thank God," Pinkerton sighed. "My German is absolutely abominable." He grinned at Edgeworth. "So I heard there was another American at this university. A young prodigy kinda kid. That's you, right?"

Edgeworth nodded, but secretly he was starting to wish that he'd pretended to not speak English.

"I think you're in one of my law classes," Pinkerton said. "We should study together sometime!"

"I-I'm fine studying alone," Edgeworth stammered.

"I know, it must come off like I'm trying mooch off your brains, but I'm not. I just..." Pinkerton's shoulders slumped. "I feel out of sorts here. It would be nice to be friends with the only other American on campus." He grinned again. "Besides, I totally beat your score on the last mock exam."

Edgeworth was accustomed to loneliness. _But it might be nice to be acquainted with someone else from back home. _

"Well, okay," Edgeworth said. _As long as you promise to not annoy me too much, _he added silently.

One day, a pretty young girl with black hair and grey eyes joined Pinkerton at the table. She looked as though she might have been fourteen or fifteen.

"Who's this?" Edgeworth said. He was a little annoyed that Pinkerton had brought someone else to the table.

"Oh, this is my new girlfriend!" Pinkerton said, putting an arm around the girl's shoulder.

"She looks awfully young," Edgeworth said.

"She's sixteen," Pinkerton replied. "She'll be seventeen in a few months."

Edgeworth pulled Pinkerton aside. "Don't you think that's a bad idea? She's not even old enough to be in university!" he whispered.

"Actually, she's a student in the university's music department," Pinkerton replied.

Edgewoth gaped at Pinkerton. "You...you're..."

"And she's absolutely in love with me," Pinkerton went on. He grinned sheeplishly, then leaned close to Edgeworth and lowered his voice. "There's this girl in my biology class named Kate that's been begging me to get with her, but Licia told me she loved me yesterday, so I think I'll keep her around for a little while longer..."

"She—she..." Edgeworth's head spun. "Please tell me you didn't tell her you loved her, too!"

Pinkerton winced and put a finger up to his lips while tilting his head toward the table where his girlfriend was sitting."Of course I did!" Pinkerton snapped. "I couldn't very well not say _anything_!" He thrust his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Let me introduce you to her."

Pinkerton led Edgeworth back to the table. "Licia, this is my buddy Miles."

She smiled brightly and shook Edgeworth's hand. "Pleased to meet you!" Her accent sounded strange to Edgeworth, like an Italian accent, but not...quite. There was a rhythm to her speech that was not Italian at all.

"You won't mind if I study with you guys, will you?" Licia asked.

_Actually, yes. _But Edgeworth shook his head instead of being honest. "As long as you aren't too much trouble."

"She won't be," Pinkerton assured him.

And truth be told, she wasn't. She was more diligent in her studies than Pinkerton, which amused Edgeworth.

She sat with Edgeworth and Pinkerton for months, and never really spoke to Edgeworth except for offhand comments about superficial things. The weather. Classes.

One day, a strange man approached "their" table. "Licia," he said. She looked up.

"Signor Luciano?"

Edgeworth and Pinkerton looked up at the man. He had black hair and eyes, a full, neatly trimmed beard, and a kind expression. He looked older, possibly in his late twenties. Not old enough to be Licia's father.

_Her teacher, maybe? _Edgeworth thought.

The older man, Signor Luciano, gestured toward Edgeworth and Pinkerton.

"Chi sono i tuoi amici, Licia?" he said, with a warm smile. Edgeworth didn't have to know Italian to understand the man's gist. _Who're your friends?_

Licia blushed. "B-Bram Pinkerton and Miles Edgeworth." She then spoke to the older man in rapid Italian, and he nodded.

Then he turned his attention to Edgeworth and Pinkerton.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said in a gentle, deep voice that had almost certainly been cultivated by years of training, "I need to speak to Licia for a moment." He spoke to Licia again in Italian, and ushered her away from the table.

Edgeworth hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help hearing.

"Licia, tua nonna..."

"Aspetti, quale delle mie nonne?"

The man sighed deeply. "Obaasan."

All fell silent. Licia walked back the the table and started stuffing her things into her bag. Her shoulders slumped and she didn't even look up.

_Is everything all right? _Edgeworth wanted to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, and Licia was too absorbed in her thoughts to speak. She looked as though she might cry at any moment.

Pinkerton stood and put a comforting hand on Licia's shoulder. She put her hand on top of his, then took it away and shook her head.

"I've got to go, Bram," she said simply. "There's...I have a family emergency to attend to." She smiled sadly, kissed Bram on the cheek, (Edgeworth noticed that she made certain to do this when the man who had spoken to her wasn't looking), and left the library without another word.

Pinkerton sighed. "That might be for the best," he said. "I...well..."  
"What?" Edgeworth asked.  
"I cheated on her with Kate," Pinkerton said simply. "I shouldn't have, I know. I was going to tell her." He bit his lip and shook his head. "Never mind, Miles. I'm going back to the dorms."  
Licia didn't come back to the library after that.

_**FEBRUARY 2010- VIENNA OPERA HOUSE, VIENNA**_

* * *

When the spring semester started, Pinkerton was pleased to discover that Edgeworth was his roommate in the dormitory. Edgeworth was less than pleased. The first thing he'd done was set ground rules about bringing girls over to the room, despite Pinkerton's assurances that he wouldn't be bringing any girls over.

It happened on a night in February that Ada von Karma, Edgeworth's older adopted sister, dropped by for a visit.

Edgeworth always looked forward to those visits. Ada was a medical student, with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a perfect attendance record. She'd married a perfect radiologist (and kept her perfect von Karma maiden name), had a perfectly healthy little girl, and somehow managed to be a perfect mother on top of everything else.

She was, however, more laid-back than both her father, Manfred, and sister, Franziska. Perfection seemed to come easily to her, and she didn't seem to take her failures as seriously as Manfred, or Franziska, or even Edgeworth himself did.

On this visit, she had insisted on taking Pinkerton and Edgeworth to the opera. "It would be good for Pinkerton to get some culture, yes?" she teased.

Ada had bought tickets for _Madama Butterfly, _since Edgeworth had never seen it before.

"The story takes place in Japan. You'll love it, I mean, you love those old samurai movies, right?" Ada had said.

Edgeworth only nodded. He was impressed, though, that Ada had been able to convince Pinkerton to come. He suspected that it was Ada's beauty which had played a role in Pinkerton's decision.

"Don't even think about flirting with her," Miles warned while they waited for Ada to pick them up.

Pinkerton shrugged. "Friends' sisters are off-limits."

Miles was taken aback. _Does he consider me...? _

Before he could speak, Ada pulled up in front of the dormitory in her black, and Pinkerton quickly climbed into the car.

"I've made friends with the primadonna," Ada said excitedly while they waited for the show to start. "She said we could meet her backstage. I think you'll love her, Miles! She's amazing."

Edgeworth shrugged. "That remains to be seen." He sat straight as a board in his chair, his face expressionless.

"She's brilliant," Ada went on, "She made her debut in Tokyo when she was just fourteen!"

This piqued Edgeworth's interest. "Oh, really? What did she sing?" He tilted his head ever so slightly.

"I believe she sang Pamina in _Die Zauberfl__ö__te,_" Ada said.

"She must be brilliant then," Edgeworth conceded, "But I'll suspend my judgement until I see her."

Pinkerton yawned and idly flipped through the playbill. He paused at the sight of a familiar face.

_Cio-Cio-san/Butterfly, played by Licia Yamadori. _He recognized the girl's photo at once. _ Licia? My Licia? Is this why she wouldn't see me? _Pinkerton eagerly turned his head to Edgeworth and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the houselights dimmed. _I can wait until intermission to ask Miles if he knew Licia was going to be here._

From the moment that the overture started, Pinkerton was mesmerized by _Madama Butterfly. _ He was drawn in by Licia's performance most of all—her voice was exquisite, and he found himself believing that she really _was _Madame Butterfly.

Toward the end of the opera, when Butterfly blindfolded her son and sent him to play just before her suicide, Pinkerton looked back over at Edgeworth. He was frowning. He even looked a little bleary-eyed.

_Hah, well, if Licia can get Miles to show emotion, then she can do anything._

"I told you she'd blow you away!" Ada said as she ushered everyone backstage after the opera.

There was already a crowd around Licia. She was smiling shyly and answering the questions as best as she could. When she saw Ada, she waved.

"Ada!" Licia pushed through the crowd of her admirers and hugged Ada. "This must be your..." Her voice trailed off as she locked eyes with Pinkerton.

Ada nodded. "Yes, this is my adopted brother, Miles, and his roommate, Bram."

Licia smiled and nodded, never taking her eyes off of Pinkerton.

One of the men backstage took a step forward and extended a hand to Licia. "What an exquisite voice you have," he said.

"Th-thank you," Licia said slowly, taking her attention away from Pinkerton. She took the man's hand and shook it.

"I've never seen Butterfly played so perfectly," he went on.

"You flatter me." Licia bit her lower lip and looked away. She managed a weak smile, but never met his eyes.

"You're intimidating her, dear," the man's wife teased.

Licia returned her attention to Pinkerton. "Did you like it?"

He smiled broadly. "You are _amazing_. I knew you must be brilliant, but I had no idea..."

Licia took his hand. "You can come back any night, you know." She smiled widely. "I'll even make sure you get a good seat."

Pinkerton took her up on her offer. He went every night that _Madama Butterfly _ran.

While some of Pinkerton's friends from the fraternity couldn't understand why he'd want to see an opera more than once, Edgeworth understood and was working out what to do about it ahead of time.

_**MAY 2010, SALLEY GARDENS, BERLIN**_

There was a weeping willow tree in the public gardens that Pinkerton had become rather fond of. It was very large and very old, with branches that dipped gracefully toward the ground. A bench had been placed near it, and Pinkerton would often study there in the warmer months when Edgeworth was too busy to study with him. Pinkerton was studying there at the moment, enjoying the pleasant weather.

He heard a rustling from the direction of the tree and looked up from his work. _Weird. There's no wind today..._

A young woman wearing a blue dress pushed the weeping willow's branches aside and stepped out from under the tree. She had wavy black hair and walked with a graceful, light step.

_Licia?_

She stopped when she saw him sitting on the bench. "Bram?" She hurried toward him, and beamed when she was closer. "It _is _you!" She took a seat beside him.

"You're the same as ever," Pinkerton said with a bright smile. "I didn't know you liked to commune with trees," he joked.

Licia stuck her tongue out at him. "They haven't seen you around the opera house lately," she said after a minute.

"Well, I-" _You're not in the opera that's running now. _

"We miss you." Licia smiled. "You should come back sometime."

_I don't think I could ever see another opera again unless you're in it. _

"So why do you hang out under that particular tree?" Pinkerton asked, changing the subject.

"I like sitting under it," Licia said. "It's quiet, and no one bothers you because they can't see you." She leaned back against the bench and looked up at the clouds.

"Gotcha," Pinkerton replied before bending back over his homework. _So premediation means..._

He paused when he felt a soft hand resting on his own. He looked over at Licia, who was still gazing intently at the sky. She looked over at him, without turning her head, and then down at her hand. With a gasp, she pulled her hand away and pressed it against her chest. Her cheeks flushed red.

"I...I..." She lowered her eyes and chewed on her lower lip.

"You don't have to go to such lengths to get my attention," Pinkerton teased. His brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

Licia giggled. "I never had to work to get your attention."

"That's a fact," Pinkerton affirmed.

"You looked so serious just now," Licia said quietly. "And...kind of intimidating."

"Good." Pinkerton grinned at Licia.

"Good?" Licia tilted her head.

"I'm going to be a prosecutor, like Miles," Pinkerton explained.

"Oh, don't be like him," Licia whispered. "He's _too _intimidating."

Pinkerton chuckled. "There's no such thing as too intimidating in my future line of work." _I hate criminals. I __**want **__to scare them, _Pinkerton wanted to say. Instead, he was silent. He found himself absent-mindedly tracing Licia's jawline with his thumb. He stopped and moved his hand away._ Now wait a minute, Bram. You're supposed to go out with Kate tonight. And Miles had a point about Licia being too young..._

"B-Bram..." Licia's eyes were half-closed.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned close to Licia and gently pressed his lips against hers. She froze, then tentatively returned his kiss. Pinkerton pressed closer to her, deepening the kiss. His books fell to the ground, unnoticed by either of them. All that existed in his mind was the feel of Licia's lips against his, the way she was gripping his jacket, the smell of her hair. Suddenly, she pushed him away. Her face was flushed red, redder than he'd ever seen it. She stood up quickly, picked up Pinkerton's books, and shoved them into his hands.

"Licia...I shouldn't have" he said. "I..I took advantage-"

"It isn't that," Licia said, much too quickly for Pinkerton's liking. She gently pressed her index finger against his lips. "I...I have a voice lesson. My teacher doesn't like when I'm late. If you can, meet me here tomorrow. Same time."

Then she was gone.

They met the next day, and the day after that. Sometimes they would kiss and snuggle on the bench, but most of the time, Licia would sit next to him while he did his homework and just rest her hand on his. Pinkerton sometimes wondered why she never asked him over, or why she was content just to sit at the park with him, or why she never wanted to go to coffee downtown. She would always assure him that she preferred the outdoors, that she didn't like coffee, that she wasn't bored.

"I just like being with you," she said, and kissed him.

_**APRIL 5, 2019- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS**_

* * *

"So what happened after that?" Pearl asked. She'd listened with rapt attention to every last word of the story.

Pinkerton grimaced. "It's really not important. Really, it's not."

Edgeworth stared off into space with a blank expression. He absent-mindedly smoothed his cravat and frowned heavily, but said nothing.

Phoenix had an idea about where this story was headed. _She got married when she was seventeen, didn't she? And she certainly didn't marry Pinkerton..._

"It doesn't end well, does it?" Pearl said slowly. She, too, had figured out the end of ther story.

"Well..." Pinkerton sighed. "Well, I've told you this much. You might as well hear the whole story."

"You don't have to finish," Phoenix said.

"I think you should," said Edgeworth.

Pinkerton almost smiled. "Well, if Miles says I should..." He leaned back in the chair. "In July of 2010, Miles took some time off to go observe some trials in the US. By that time, though, I was seeing Licia again. Anyway, Miles came back in April of 2011..."

_**APRIL 2011- THE SALLEY GARDENS, BERLIN**_

* * *

Pinkerton wasn't sure that Licia would even meet him by the old willow tree today. He'd called at the last minute, and with her schedule being as full as it was...

He sighed and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a heart-shaped silver locket on a thin, silver chain. He'd missed Licia's birthday because of spring break, and he intended the locket to be a gift for her.

Edgeworth had shown a little concern about their relationship. "You'll be graduating soon, won't you? What are you going to do about Licia? She's absolutely devoted to you."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Pinkerton had replied. He didn't blame Miles for being concerned, though. Pinkerton hadn't exactly been...well, a decent human being the first time he'd dated Licia. But loving her had changed him, he was sure of that.

"Bram!" Licia's voice drew him out of his thoughts. She was wearing a green dress (how strange to see her in a color other than blue), carried a handbag, and had pulled her black hair into a ponytail. She threw her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. Pinkerton wound his arms around her and stroked her haid..

"Sorry I'm late. I wanted to say hello to Miles, since he just got back," she breathed.

Pinkerton was surprised to feel a little jealousy welling up inside him. He swallowed and grinned, trying to obliterate it. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I gave him one of the pictures I autographed while I was touring in Madame Butterfly last year. It's just like yours."

"Oh." Pinkerton was annoyed that he was still a little jealous. There was no reason to be jealous of Edgeworth. Hell, Edgeworth probably didn't even like girls!

"Are you okay, Bram?" Licia asked, putting some distance between them.

"Fine. Really, I am. Here," he reached into his pocket and retrieved the locket. "I have something for you. Happy birthday," he said, flashing Licia a bright smile.

Licia gasped when she saw the locket and slowly took it. "You...for me? It's beautiful, Bram." She smiled and carefully fastened the locket around her neck. "I'll treasure it."

Pinkerton sighed with relief. "I was so worried you wouldn't like it."

"Oh?" Licia's grey eyes twinkled.

"Er...it's...I just worried for no reason. W-why don't we go for coffee? Downtown?" he asked, lamely.

Licia frowned. She leaned back against the bench, folded her arms, and sucked her lower lip between her teeth. "Well..."

_Just today, _Pinkerton thought, _Please just come today._

Licia nodded. "Today would be okay. I don't have any voice lesson today." She smiled. "And later this week, we could meet under our tree."

"What if it rains?" Pinkerton asked.

"I'll bring a tarp," Licia teased.

_**APRIL 5, 2019- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS**_

* * *

"How sweet," Pearl said. She sighed dreamily and rested her head in her hands.  
Edgeworth shifted in his seat.  
"You know, if I knew then what I know now," Pinkerton mumbled, "Even if I'd known it the last time I saw her..."  
"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.  
"When was the last time you saw her?" Phoenix interrupted.  
"February of 2012."

_**FEBRUARY 2012- BERLIN, LICIA'S APARTMENT**_

* * *

_I overstayed again, _Pinkerton thought when he opened his eyes. _I'm going to be late for class..._ He moved to climb out of the bed, then stopped. _I'll wait, _he decided. Licia stirred next to him, then regarded him with half-open gray eyes.

"You're still here." she murmured.

He nodded.

She absent-mindedly traced circles on his collarbone with her fingertips. He took her hand and held it.

"I really should get going," he mumbled. "I've got to pack..."

Licia pressed a kiss to his palm. "You're still going on that trip?"

He nodded. "Well, yeah. I've gotta see Miles off, and besides, I've never been to Los Angeles. And I gotta find work. I graduated in December...and I'm a little embarrassed to still be working in a coffee house."

"I'm almost finished with my degree," she said. Her eyes glimmered. "I'm sure I could find work anywhere...so we don't have to be apart for long."

Pinkerton's only response was to idly stroke her black hair. _But could you be happy anywhere? _

Licia sat up and watched him dress. One of the straps on her nightgown slipped down, and she slowly pulled it back up.

"When are you leaving, Bram?" she asked.

"The day after tomorrow."

Licia frowned heavily and looked down at the floor with a long sigh.

"Can you...meet me under our tree tonight?" she asked.

"Licia, it's the middle of winter." Pinkerton fumbled with his tie, then gave up, rolled the tie up, and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Please? It's important." She bit her lip. Her left arm moved up; she fumbled with the silver locket Pinkerton had given her. Her hand slid down and for a moment, Pinkerton thought that she'd rested her hand on her stomach, but no, her hand was resting in her lap.

Pinkerton shook his head. "Don't look at me like that, Butterfly," he said with a teasing smile, "You know I can't resist when you do that."

"Which is exactly why I did it," Licia replied.

Pinkerton bent over and gently kissed Licia. "Tonight, then. I promise."

Pinkerton hurried to the train station. It was cold that morning, even with his coat on. He shook his head. _It's going to be even colder tonight—why did I agree to meet her? _

Something was definitely strange about Licia's behavior. Why had she insisted he meet her tonight? Why hadn't she just said her piece last night...or even earlier?

Pinkerton passed by a newsstand, then stopped. He thought he'd seen Licia's face on the front page of a newspaper. _What has she accomplished this time? _he thought as a smile slowly made its way across his face. He turned around and walked back to the newsstand, curious about the paper...and then he frowned. _What's this? _

_PRODIGY SINGER ANNOUNCES WEDDING DATE_

_Licia Yamadori, the daughter of media tycoon Kazuo Yamadori, recently announced the date of her wedding to long-time teacher and mentor, Luciano Puccini, last night. The pair has been engaged since 2010, when Licia was just sixteen... _

Pinkerton lowered his eyes. _So she was using me. This whole time. _ He clenched his fists so tightly that he could feel the sting of his nails cutting into his palm. Heartbreak was something that Pinkerton was used to giving out, but this was the first time he'd ever felt it. _My God, is this how all of those girls felt when I used them and moved on? _It felt like his heart was collapsing in on itself—no, it felt as though he'd walked into another world entirely, as though he'd fallen asleep in Heaven and awoken in swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the lump in his throat. Then Pinkerton turned on his heel and walked back toward the station, staring straight ahead. When he returned to the dorm room he shared with Edgeworth, he said nothing.

And that night, when Licia called him, he turned off his phone.

_**APRIL 5TH, 2019- CITY HALL, DEPARTMENT OF VITAL STATISTICS**_

* * *

"I didn't meet her that night," Pinkerton finished. "And she eloped with her fiance the next week."

Edgeworth stared straight ahead, and said nothing for a long time. Then he nodded. "I see."

"How sad," Pearl murmured. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

Pinkerton looked down at the One-Act opera playbill on the table with a wistful smile.

"You went to see her when she was in that one-act opera, didn't you?" asked Phoenix. "Why?"

"I actually didn't intend on going at all," Pinkerton admitted, "Miles talked me into going with him. I thought maybe I would talk to her after the performance, but..." he swallowed. "Those reproachful eyes..." he finished.

"But you keep the playbill with you," Phoenix said.

"It's to remind me..." Pinkerton replied with a cryptic smile. "Well, it doesn't matter."

"Why would she look at you with reproachful eyes if she was using you?" Pearl mused.

Pinkerton shrugged. "Frankly, I don't care. That is the past, and the past is unimportant."

_I don't believe you, _Phoenix thought. _If it was unimportant you wouldn't be hounding Licia. Is that why you've decided she's guilty, I wonder?_

Pearl nudged Phoenix. "I think we should get Ms. Licia's side of the story."

Phoenix thought so, too. "First, though, we need to do some more investigating." _And we need to get these vases out of the way..._


	12. Investigation, Day Two: Orchestra Pit

_**APRIL 5- RIVERA THREATER, ORCHESTA PIT**_

* * *

"Wow, Mr. Nick, how many violins can fit in here?" Pearl stood in the orchestra pit with wide eyes.

Phoenix chuckled. "Quite a few..." He looked over at a raised area of the stage. "That must be where the Maestro stands..." Phoenix looked around the orchestra pit furtively and climbed onto the conductor's podium.

_Hmm. Don Octave could only see his performer's feet from here...so he really couldn't have seen the moment of the stabbing. _He caught a flash of something metallic out of the corner of his eye and looked down. Something was wedged between a chair and the the wall of the stage. Curious, Phoenix climbed down from the chair and walked toward the chairs that were against the wall.

"What is it, Mr. Nick?" Pearl followed close behind, clinging to the bottom of his jacket.

"I thought I saw something," Phoenix said. He looked at the row of chairs again.

"There!" Pearl pointed to a chair on the right. Phoenix reached between the chair and the wall and grabbed something cold, metal, and very light.

_It can't be, can it...?_

"Mr. Nick! That looks just like the murder weapon." Pearl's brown eyes were wide with curiosity.

The dagger was small, with a plain, black handle. Phoenix pressed a finger on the end of the blade and watched as it started to retract.

_This be the missing trick dagger. But what's it doing down here?_

"It looks like someone dropped it from the stage," Pearl said.

Phoenix made a note of the dagger and put it in with his evidence.

"Let's check the employee locker rooms, too," he said.

* * *

_**APRIL 5- RIVERA THEATRE, LOCKER ROOMS**_

"They're all locked tight," Pearl lamented. Phoenix sighed. Each and every locker that leaned against the walls was locked with a sturdy padlock.

Something stuck out of the corner of the locker labelled _Angelica. _It looked like a piece of cloth. White silk, maybe. Phoenix reached out to touch it, and...

"You know, you _really _shouldn't poke around in other people's stuff, yo!"

Phoenix wheeled around and found himself face-to-face with Carmen.

"C-C-Carmen!"

"Sorry, just doing my job," Carmen said with a shrug. She ran a finger through her brown curls. "That's part of a costume I need to fix. She musta just shoved it in in a hurry. She oughta be more careful." She grinned, as if to say "Divas, what can you do about them?"

_You know, there could be evidence in that locker. _Phoenix thought. _I mean, I've found some pretty crucial evidence in lockers before. _

"Can you...open it, please, Carmen?" Phoenix asked.

She blushed and looked away. "Uh...this is embarrassing...I can't. I lost my keys.."

"You _WHAT_?" Phoenix gaped at Carmen.

"Yeah. Besides, that isn't even my locker." She grinned broadly. "Sorry, bro. Oh! Hey! Give this to Licia." She rummaged around in her pockets and pulled out a silver, heart-shaped locket that dangled on a thin chain. There was a small, silver ring that also hung on the chain. "She always wore it, except when she was performing. She'd probably like to have it back."

Phoenix took the locket and carefully put it in his pocket.

"Now, I've got to go prop storage," Carmen said. "Don't let Maestro catch you back here. He'll have my head if he knows I let people who weren't cops in here."

She hurried out of the room. When he was sure that Carmen was gone, Phoenix took the opportunity to check out the piece of cloth that hung from Carmen's locker.

"Look, Mr. Nick. There's something red on it..." Pearl whispered, pointing to a few red spots in the middle of the cloth.

_That could be important, _Phoenix thought. He made a note of the scarf and looked at the locket and ring he still held.

"Should we visit Ms. Puccini, Pearls?" He moved to take a step, then noticed that Pearl hadn't moved.  
"Mr. Nick, you were standing on this." She was holding a neatly folded piece of paper. Curious, Phoenix took it and unfolded it. "My dear Carmen," it began. He skimmed the rest of the letter and noticed that a large piece of paper toward the end of the letter had been torn off. "Pearls, hold this." He handed the open letter to Pearl and took the part of Luciano's break-up letter that he found in the trash and held it up against the letter he'd just found.  
_It's a perfect match!  
_Phoenix looked down at Pearl and gently took the letter from her. "It's time to break down Ms. Puccini's Psyche-Locks."

* * *

_**APRIL 5- DETENTION CENTER**_

"Mr. Wright, please tell me you've found some kind of desicive evidence." Licia was leaning forward, her nose almost touching the glass.

"Not exactly," Phoenix said.

Licia slumped in her chair.

"I'm curious about your husband's affairs, Ms. Puccini."

To his amazement, all eight of Licia's Psyche-Locks appeared before him. _Everything must be connected, then._

"I don't think that has any bearing on this case." Licia scowled at Phoenix; her gray eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I think it does," Phoenix said. _Could this thing really be as simple as a jilted lover's revenge?_

"Very well. So who was my husband's mysterious lover?" Licia's tone was almost mocking.

Phoenix showed her the note he'd made about the vase in Luciano's dressing room. "I believe it was Ms. Ghia."

Licia's eyes widened for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and regained her composure. "I see. But Carmen is a good friend of the family. She probably just liked the flowers and thought that Luci would, too."

Phoenix shook his head. "I don't think so." He calmly presented her with the full break-up letter. "It's addressed to Carmen Ghia."

Licia gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth as two of the Psyche-Locks vanished.

"You're right," she said softly. "He had an affair with Carmen this year."

"Why are you still friends with her?" Phoenix asked.

Licia laughed sardonically. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," she said slowly. She laughed again. "That makes me sound guilty, doesn't it?"

_Maybe a little._

"There's something else," Phoenix continued. "You said that you'd never seen this letter before. I think you're keeping something from me." He held the letter out in front of Licia.

Licia crossed her arms and frowned. "Like what?"

"Tell me where you've seen this."

"Prove I've seen it," Licia countered.

Pearl tugged on Phoenix's sleeve. "Mr. Nick, I don't think you have evidence for this...be careful!"

_She's right, _Phoenix thought. He decided to try something else.

"I'm curious about your relationships with Mr. Pinkerton and Mr. Edgeworth," Phoenix said.

Licia shook her head. "_That _is of no consequence to this case. Do you badger all your clients like this?"

_Urk._

"I think it's very important," Phoenix said. "I think Mr. Edgeworth believes in your innocence."

"He should be the one prosecuting, then."

Phoenix shook his head. "Maybe so," he said. "But I think your past has something to do with this case."

"Why would the past have any bearing on this case? Let the dead lie, Mr. Wright," Licia said. She coolly flipped her black hair back with one hand.

Just then, Phoenix's cell phone went off. A tinny, old-sounding Steel Samurai ringtone echoed through the Visitor's Room. The guard's head

Licia giggled. "The Steel Samurai, Mr. Wright?" A teasing grin lit up her face. "Ben likes the Steel Samurai, too."

Phoenix put a finger to his lips and pulled the phone from his pocket. "H-Hello?"

"Wright. I've got some bad news."

"W-what is it, Edgeworth?"

"There's an updated copy of the autopsy report. It's...well, you'll have to come and see it for yourself. It doesn't look good for your client. Pinkerton is here now, as well."

"I see." Phoenix's heart pounded in his chest. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes. I think the incident from five years ago is relevant. I've made sure that Carmen Ghia will testify about it tomorrow."

_From bad to worse._

"Wright, there's one more thing. Ms. Ghia will also be testifying about her affair with the victim. Pinkerton thinks it's relevant to the case."

"H-how did you get her to-?"

"People cooperate with the prosecution, remember?" Edgeworth said flatly. "Anyway, when you're through investigating, come see that updated autopsy report. I'll be waiting in my office."

Phoenix closed his phone and looked back at Licia. Her gray eyes were full of fury.

_If looks could kill, she'd have vaporized everyone in the room. Urk._

"_You. _You're in league with them!"she spat.

"W-wait, Ms. Puccini..."

"You never believed in me at all! You're working with him to get me found guilty!" Licia's voice was deadly calm.

"T-that's not it at all, Ms. Puccini!"

She turned away from the glass. "I think I'll find a new attorney."

"You can't. It's too late," Phoenix said weakly. "You'll be found guilty by default-"

"Fine. You thought I was guilty from the beginning, anyway."

"No, I...I believe in you."

"Then why are you working with _them_?" Licia kept her back to the glass.

"I...Edgeworth and I are working together for the _truth,_" Phoenix said, as slowly and gently as he could.

Pearl tugged on Phoenix's sleeve. "Mr. Nick. The locket." She carefully pressed it into his palm.

Phoenix looked down at the silver, heart-shaped locket and silver ring in his hand. He was more curious about the contents of the locket than anything else. _Anything can be evidence...and anything can help me break the rest of those Psyche-Locks. _He slowly opened the locket and found a picture of a little boy pasted inside. He had grey eyes and black hair like his mother. There was something familiar about the boy's face. He had inherited Licia's smile, and her almond-shaped eyes, but the nose...

"Mr. Nick, doesn't he look a little bit like that person..." Pearl's voice trailed off as she looked up from the locket and at Licia.

"He does," Phoenix agreed. _Let's see where this takes us._

"Ms. Puccini, Carmen wanted us to give you something."

"A Judas Kiss?" Licia snapped. She turned toward Phoenix as he held out the locket and ring that hung on a thin, silver chain.

"Mr. Wright! Where did you-" Licia's voice caught in her throat. The corners of her mouth twitched as though she were trying to fight back a smile.

"Carmen said that you always wear it," Phoenix interrupted. Licia nodded as she took her jewelry from Phoenix's hand and lightly held it in her hand.

"Ms. Licia, why do you wear that ring around your neck?" Pearl asked.

Licia almost smiled. "When Luci bought our wedding rings, he accidentally bought one that was too small for me. So we decided to always wear our rings around our necks instead of on our fingers."

"Ms. Puccini," Phoenix said, changing the subject "Is that photo in your locket of your son?"

"Of course it is," Licia said. She tilted her head to one side. "What other child would I keep a picture of?"

"This might be an awkward question...but...was Luciano his father?"

Licia's six remaining Psyche-Locks re-appeared. _Gotcha._

"Of course he is," Licia said.

"You told me earlier that Luciano never behaved inappropriately while you were engaged."

"He didn't," Licia replied. "When we were engaged, we lived in seperate apartments and the only times we were alone together was during our voice lessons. He didn't even kiss me until our wedding. And after we got married, we slept in seperate rooms until I turned eighteen. He never touched me until after then."

"I'm sorry," Phoenix said, "But I can't believe that Luciano is your son's father-"

"My son has a name," Licia interrupted. "His name is Ben." She frowned and folded her arms across her chest.

"Right," Phoenix said. He bit his lip, wondering if he should go on, and then decided that he should. "I can't believe that your husband was Ben's father. I mean, you were married in February and he was born in August..."

"A father is more than just..." Licia looked down at Pearl and pursed her lips. "Let me be more delicate. A father is...a father _ought to be _a man who is there for a child, a man who wholly and unconditionally loves a child. Luci held Ben on the day he was born, and taught him to ride his bicycle, and loved him more than anything. Even more than his job." Tears welled in Licia's eyes. She swallowed and looked down at the floor. "Luci is Ben's father, as far as I'm concerned."

"I think," Phoenix said, "That I understand why you hate Mr. Pinkerton so much. What I don't understand is why you hate Edgeworth."

Licia sighed. "It...doesn't matter. Anyway, they both hate me."

"I disagree," Phoenix said gently. "I think that Edgeworth wants to believe in you. And Pinkerton has never stopped thinking of you."

"Oh? P-prove it," Licia sniffled. Phoenix carefully pulled the old program that Pinkerton had left at the Department of Vital Statistics and handed it to Licia. To his utter amazement, all six of Licia's remaining Psyche-Locks shattered at once.

_THAT'S never happened before._

Licia burst into tears. "O, my poor Luci...o, my poor life that never was..."

"What is it?" Phoenix asked. "What do you mean?"

"I'll...I'll tell you everything, Mr. Wright. I should have told you everything from the beginning..."


	13. Butterfly's Reminiscence

_**APRIL 5, DETENTION CENTER**_

* * *

"The truth is," Licia said as she delicately wiped away her tears, "I have seen that break-up letter before."

"Where?" Phoenix asked.

"It's funny," Licia laughed softly. "I've seen it before because I wrote a letter with those exact same words once."

"Who was the letter for?" _Please tell me you didn't write it for Pinkerton._

"It was for Luci, of course..."

_**FEBRUARY 2012- GERMANY**_

* * *

Licia carefully inspected her letter for any errors. _I should have written this sooner instead of putting it off until the last minute. _When she was satisfied that her letter was as perfect as it could be, she reread it again, just to be sure.

_**My dearest Luci,**_

_**We've been close for so long that it was hard for me to decide this...**_

She skipped to the end. _**My darling. I'm sorry. Things can't go on like this. I have thought deeply about our relationship, and the truth is that someone else will always be first in my heart. Please forgive me, darling, but...it's over.**_

_**Love, Licia**_

_Maybe it's too callous, _Licia thought. _Maybe I should tell him in person. He'd be relieved. I'd be relieved._

She folded up the letter, put it in an envelope, and wrote Luciano's name on it anyway.

_I should tell Bram everything, too. _

She never had the chance.

* * *

_**APRIL 5, 2019- DETENTION CENTER**_

"Ms. Puccini, why didn't you tell Mr. Pinkerton about your engagement from the beginning?" Phoenix asked.

"I was afraid I would lose him," Licia said slowly. "That night in February when I wanted to meet him under our tree, I was going to tell him...about my engagement, and about..." She shook her head and sighed.

"Do you think he would have stayed with you if you had told him that you were engaged but that you'd broken it off?" Pearl asked.

Licia shook her head. "I guess I'll never know, because he never came. "

* * *

_**FEBRUARY 2012- SALLEY'S GARDENS, GERMANY**_

Even in her ski jacket and heavy gloves, it was colder than Licia had expected it to be. She leaned against the old willow tree's trunk and took a deep breath. _He's a man of his word. He promised to come, and if he can't, he'll call. _

She leaned back against the tree and slumped to the ground. _Maybe I'll call him. _She pulled her phone out of her pocket and clumsily dialed his number. While she waited, she counted the number of times his phone rang. _One...two...three..._

"You've reached B.F. Pinkerton. Unfortunately, I can't come to the phone now, so leave a message, yo!"

_Why isn't he answering me?_

"Bram. Please. It's important. Call me as soon as you get this."

_He promised to come._

She called again, and again.

_Something must have come up. I'll wait here._

She yawned and checked her phone for the time. _Midnight. It's awfully late. I should go, but...what if he comes and I miss him? He'll think I stood him up! _

She pulled her knees to her chest and sighed. Her eyes felt like someone had attached weights to them. Every moment that passed, every breath she took felt like a conspiracy against her resolve. _He'll come. He'll come. _

She yawned deeply and looked up. She could see a few stars through the tree's bare branches, and she idly wondered if, maybe, Pinkerton was looking at those same stars. She leaned back against the tree with another long yawn.

_I'll just close my eyes for a minute. _

* * *

_**APRIL 5, 2019- DETENTION CENTER**_

"I kept waiting and waiting," Licia said bitterly, "and he never came." She wrapped her arms around herself as though she really were feeling the cold again, and shuddered.

"Wasn't that dangerous, Ms. Licia?" Pearl asked. "It was really cold, wasn't it?"

"I thought that Bram would come," Licia sighed. "But...I waited all night for my love who never came, just like Madame Butterfly."

She shook her head and chuckled. "I always thought I was like her. Madame Butterfly, I mean. Abandoned by my lover, ha, Pinkerton even has the same name as Madame Butterfly's ill-fated love...but I hoped my story would end differently. Happily, maybe. Maybe it doesn't."

"It will," Phoenix assured her. "Did you try to contact Mr. Pinkerton the next day?"

"No," Licia said. "When he didn't come, I gave up on him completely."

* * *

_**FEBRUARY 2012- SALLEY'S GARDENS, GERMANY**_

_So cold..._

She heard a concerned male voice somewhere in the distance.

Licia stirred.

"Licia?"

_Bram? _She slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight shone through the branches of the willow tree and dappled the snow she was laying on with shadows that danced as the branches moved. She clumsily sat up and looked at the man who had been speaking to her.

"L-Luci!"

His familiar black eyes radiated concern. There were dark circles under his eyes and his black hair and beard were disheveled. Even his clothes looked rumpled. _Did he sleep at all?_

"I've been looking all over for you," he said breathlessly. "Were you here all night? What were you thinking?"

"The letter," Licia mumbled. _Stupid stupid. Why can't I think of anything else to say?_

"I found it," Luciano said. "I-"

"You aren't mad, are you?" Licia interrupted.

Luciano shook his head. "No, but...why didn't you say something sooner? We don't have to get married. I'll still merge my company with your father's. I'll still be your teacher. We can still be friends." Luciano smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Licia's shoulder.

Licia looked down and watched the shadows dance against the snow. "My father-"

"Your father will understand," Lucianio said.

"He won't." Licia sighed and kept watching the shadows.

They sat beside one another in silence for a moment.

Luciano gently took Licia's hand. "That other person in the letter. He's that law student. Pinkerton." It wasn't a question.

Licia nodded.

"You were going to meet him here," Luciano went on, "He didn't come."

Licia nodded again. How had he figured that out? How had he known to look for her here?

"Why?" Luciano sounded...did he sound sympathetic? Why wasn't he angry with her?

"It doesn't matter," Licia said. She swallowed and bit her lip. Without realizing what she was doing, she rested her hands on her stomach. "I'm in trouble, Luci."

He didn't say anything for a moment. He eyed her hands, and sighed. "I see that."

"I haven't even told you-"

"It's obvious," Luciano interrupted. "I mean..." He bit his lip. "It's the way you're...you're holding yourself," he finished.

An awkward silence hung between them. Licia was ashamed that Luciano had to see her this way, ashamed that she had gotten herself into this situation, and devastated that Pinkerton never came. She looked away from Luciano.

"Does he know about it?" Luciano asked.

Licia shook her head. "I was going to tell him last night, but..."

_He never came._

She suddenly turned and threw her arms around Luciano. She sobbed against his shoulder and he quietly stroked her hair and rocked her in his arms. "Let's go," she sobbed.

Luciano was quiet.

"Lu-Luci...let's go away together. Let's get married somewhere far away."

Luciano caressed her cheek. "We don't have to. There are...other ways of handling this."

"Yes we do!" Licia sobbed. "If my father finds out...about Bram, about any of this..." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Please. Let's go away together. Let's make this work, Luci."

"People will talk," he gently pointed out. "When that baby is born."

"I don't care! I don't care what they say!"

Luciano sighed deeply. "Your parents are going to be upset if we get married without them there..."

"It would be better for us to elope," Licia said between sniffles, "Then for us to not get married and for my parents to find out about Bram...and..." She didn't need to mention the other thing.

Luciano nodded. "All right." He gave Licia a reassuring hug and helped her stand up. "Now let's get you some hot coffee and then I want you to go home and rest. Pack for a short trip. We'll get married in Berlin, all right?"

* * *

_**APRIL 5, 2019- DETENTION CENTER**_

"So that's why we eloped," Licia said. She sniffled and wiped more tears away. "I suppose I'm lucky, because I married my best friend...and we did learn to love each other."

"What about your parents?" Pearl asked.

"Oh, they were incredibly angry," Licia said. "Mostly with Luciano. They thought he'd taken advantage of me. But they got over it."

"But what about Edgeworth? You're not fond of him, either," Phoenix said.

Licia shook her head. "He...he came to my dressing room during intermission at the one-act operas. He—he saw my son and realized that it was very unlikely that Luciano was the father..."

* * *

_**OCTOBER 2015, RIVERA THEATRE: LICIA'S DRESSING ROOM**_

Three sharp raps on the door roused Licia. She'd been changing out of her nun costume and into her gala clothing, since _Suor Angelica _had just ended. There was an intermission, and then the final opera of the evening, _The Stoned Guest. _

"Just a moment!" she called. She quickly pulled her cocktail dress over her head and hurried toward the door. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw the man on the other side.

"M-Miles Edgeworth!"

The silver-haired young man nodded and smiled slightly. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Licia said slowly. "I...I didn't even know you were here. I thought you would have preferred to stay in Germany."

"Things worked out differently," Edgeworth said. He looked down at the floor. "You were marvelous out there, like always."

"Thank you." Licia folded her arms. "Is there something you wanted to talk about? I can't imagine you coming down just to shoot the breeze."

"May I come in? This would be better in private, I think."

Licia nodded, ushered Edgeworth in, and closed the door behind him.

"I saw your husband and son today. Are they well, Licia?"

She nodded. "Wh-what about them?" She frowned- was Edgeworth being malicious? He wasn't going to try to blackmail her, was he? She'd read some nasty things about him in the paper.

Edgeworth took a deep breath. "Your son. He has Bra—his father's nose."

"I-I suppose he does," Licia said, edging toward her vanity.

"I...I don't mean to frighten you," Edgeworth said, "I just...does Mr. Pinkerton know? That the child is his?"

Licia shook her head. Her eyes widened and a wide smile broke across her face. Her heart started to pound in her chest. Funny how even after two years of no contact, Pinkerton still had that effect on her. "Is he with you tonight?"

"Well, yes..." Edgeworth looked down, and away from her.

"Bring him! I'll go get Ben!"

Edgeworth shrank away from her. "I don't think that's advisable."

Licia frowned. Then she smiled again. "Then, would you at least tell him? He needs to know!"

Edgeworth shook his head. "I...if he doesn't know already, it would be best that he doesn't find out."

Licia's heart sank. "But...but he has to know, Miles!" _Luciano knows, _she added silently, although to Luciano's credit, he'd been a wonderful father. He'd never been resentful toward Ben, or her, either.

Edgeworth shook his head. "I—I'm sorry, Licia."

Fury started to swell in her breast. She took a slow step toward Edgeworth. "Get out. If this was all you wanted, then get out," she repeated. "You figured it out on your own anyway! Why did you have to come down here and ask me yourself?"

Edgeworth calmly backed away. "I didn't mean to upset you. I—well, good night." He turned on his heel and left without another word, closing the door behind him.

Licia slumped back into her chair, then buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

"I...I see," Phoenix said. A lot of the loose ends between Licia and Pinkerton seemed to be coming together now. _Now, if only the loose ends in this case would come together..._

"Maybe I shouldn't have thrown him out. Maybe I should have gone and looked for Bram myself," Licia said. "I'm sure Edgeworth meant well..." She shook her head and sighed. "Luciano saw Edgeworth leaving my dressing room and he thought he'd hurt me." She leaned back in her chair.

"He was a good man," Licia said. "He would have done anything for the people he loved. Anything." She sniffed again and smiled sadly, looking off into space. "You should have seen him on the day Ben was born. He was the happiest man in the maternity ward. He always wanted children. A boy and a girl." She sighed and looked down. "I wish things could have been different. For both of us."

Phoenix stood up to leave, and took Pearl's hand.

"Mr Wright, wait." Licia said. She gently pressed the locket into Phoenix's palm. "Take this to Bram. Maybe he'll..." Licia sighed and didn't finish her sentence.

"Are you sure?" Phoenix asked.

Licia nodded. "Ben is in my heart whether I wear that locket or not."


	14. Investigation, Day Two: Updated Report

_**APRIL 5, HIGH PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE**_

"There you are, Mr. Wright. I thought I'd have to call you again." Edgeworth's face held no expression.

Pinkerton had taken a seat on the sofa in Edgeworth's office. Phoenix was shocked by how different Pinkerton looked without his usual cocky grin.

"We were just asking Ms. Puccini some questions," Phoenix explained.

"I see," Edgeworth said. He frowned, then closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "You'd better have a look at this. Pinkerton's already got a copy." He took the envelope containing the updated autopsy report from his desk, then thrust it into Phoenix's hands.

Phoenix slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the report. He wasn't sure that he wanted to see it, but maybe it would help his case. Maybe.

_Estimated time of death: 8:45 P.M. Cause of death: Poisoning (the lethal dosage of atropine and traces of almond were found in the victim's bloodstream). Notes: Stabbed once in the chest postmortem. Stab narrowly missed the victim's heart. The wound alone would not have been severe enough to cause death._

"Do you know what atropine comes from?" Edgeworth asked when Phoenix had finished reading the report.

Phoenix shook his head.

"It's a poison found in a plant called belladonna," Edgeworth explained. "The symptoms of poisoning include a fever, delirium, and hallucinations."

Phoenix's heart sank. Hadn't Licia mentioned that Luciano had had a fever before he died? Hadn't Don Octave testified that Luciano had been delirious in the moments before his death?

"And guess what kind of plant we found growing in the Puccinis' backyard?" Pinkerton interjected. "Oh, and guess what? Some branches are missing. Part of the roots were taken, as well." Pinkerton folded his arms and smirked. "I win, Firebird."

_No. No, it can't be, _Phoenix thought. His heart began to pound so hard he was worried it might burst out of his chest. He tightened his grip on the updated autopsy report.

Pearl tugged on Edgeworth's sleeve. "But Mr. Edgeworth, how could she have poisoned him?"

Edgeworth shrugged. "She could very well have poisoned him at home. Forensics is looking for evidence right now."

"Oh..." Pearl looked down and frowned.

_But my client doesn't have a motive! _Phoenix thought. _And there's something else that bothers me about this._

"Something's bothering you too, isn't it?" Edgeworth asked.

Pinkerton threw his hands up. "Pah! You shouldn't be bothered by anything! The simplest solution is usually the correct one. Occam's Razor."

"Enough, Bram," Edgeworth warned, turning his head toward Pinkerton.

"I can't understand why someone would stab the victim if he was already dead," Phoenix said, slowly.

"Finding that out may be the key to this case," Edgeworth said, ignoring Pinkerton's short, sardonic laugh.

"Did you have any luck finding that witness?" Phoenix asked. _If that missing witness testifies, I'll definitely be able to help Licia...right?_

Edgeworth shook his head. "Gumshoe is looking for her."

_That's a great way to guarantee that you never find her._

"I should get going," Phoenix said after a long pause. "I've got some more things to do before court tomorrow."

Edgeworth nodded.

Phoenix smiled politely and turned to leave, only to be stopped by the familiar tugging at his sleeve and a soft whisper.

"Mr. Nick, the locket." Pearl looked pointedly at Pinkerton.

_Oh yeah. _Phoenix pulled the locket out of his pocket and walked over to Pinkerton. "My client wanted you to see this." He held it out in front of Pinkerton.

Pinkerton's eyes widened. "That...where did you get that? That's the locket I gave her back then..." He carefully took the locket and opened it. He gasped, and his hands shook. His mouth opened and closed a few times, as though he were trying to find something to say. After a few moments he closed the locket and jammed it into one of his pockets.

"Th-thank you, Firebird," he stammered. "I-I've got a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow, so if you'll excuse me..." He stood up and hurried out of Edgeworth's office.

"What was that all about?" Edgeworth asked.

"There's a picture of Licia's son in there," Phoenix said lamely.

Edgeworth nodded. "I see." He looked away from Phoenix and gripped his left sleeve.

"Why didn't you tell him when you visited Licia that day?" Phoenix asked. "Why did you even go ask Licia about it?"

"I simply thought that it would be better if he didn't know," Edgeworth said. "Perhaps I was wrong." He frowned heavily. "I have a lot to do before the trial tomorrow, as well. Good evening, Wright." He ushered Phoenix and Pearl out of his office and shut the door.

Pearl looked up at Phoenix. "Do you think Mr. Pinkerton will be okay?"

"I hope so," Phoenix said.

_I hope we can find a way to prove Licia innocent, too._

_**A/N: Dear reviewers: y'all rock! Thanks for reading and for all the nice reviews. Get ready for some more courtroom drama!**_


	15. Trial, Day Two: Storm

_**APRIL 6- DISTRICT COURT, DEFENDANT LOBBY NO. 2**_

* * *

A roll of thunder all but shook the courthouse. Phoenix gritted his teeth and gripped his briefcase so tightly that his hand began to ache. _I hope that storm lets up before the trial._

"Are you ready for this, Phoenix?"

Phoenix turned at the sound of Mia Fey's voice. She crossed her arms over her chest, as she always had , and smiled at Phoenix.

"It's going to be a long day," Phoenix lamented. He quickly filled Mia in on the new details of the case, making sure to mention both the death of the singer five years before and the updated autopsy report.

"So the victim died of atropine poisoning?" Mia asked when he'd finished.

Phoenix nodded.

"And there just so happens to be a belladonna plant growing in your client's backyard?"

Phoenix nodded again.

Mia sighed. "That's...very decisive."

"But I can't think of a motive," Phoenix said. "If my client is telling the truth, then she has no reason whatsoever to murder her husband. You'd think she'd go after Carmen."

"That death five years ago might have something to do with it," Mia said slowly. "I think that we should focus on proving that your client could _not _have poisoned the victim. It's a long shot, though."

"You're right," Phoenix agreed. _That would be the best way...at the very least, it would draw the trial out until we have something we can hold on to._

"We should watch out for that prosecutor, too," Mia said. "If he's decided that your client is guilty, he's not going to let up on you today."

Licia was escorted in by the police just then. She seemed much more relaxed than she had been at her previous trial. She walked as though a great burden had been lifted off of her.

"Good morning, Mr. Wright, Ms..." Licia paused and eyed Mia before looking down at the floor.

"Fey," Mia said.

"Good morning, Ms. Fey." Licia said with a bright smile, returning her gaze to Mia. She turned her attention to Phoenix and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the bailiff.

"Court is about to begin. If the defense will proceed to the courtroom, please."

_Bring it on, _Phoenix thought.

_**APRIL 6- DISTRICT COURT, COURTROOM NO. 2**_

* * *

The spectators in the gallery were unusually quiet today. The Judge only had to bring his gavel down once to get them quiet.

"The trial of Licia Puccini is now in session," he said. "Is the prosecution ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Pinkerton said. He looked very pale, and he had big, dark circles under his eyes. His suit was a little wrinkled, as though he'd slept in it.

_Did he sleep at all?_

The Judge turned his attention to Phoenix. "Is the defense ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Phoenix said.

"Then let's have the prosecution's opening statement," the Judge said, looking down at the prosecution's bench. Pinkerton nodded and stood up straight and tall.

"During the investigation yesterday," Pinkerton began, "We discovered that there was another death at the Rivera Theatre five years ago. The victim in that incident was Sarah Bellum. The court may remember that this is also the name of our missing witness."

The Judge slammed down his gavel. "Now wait one moment," he said, blinking a few times, "Are you saying that a ghost witnessed the murder?"

Pinkerton shook his head. "I believe that our missing witness used Sarah Bellum's name. Although for what reason, I cannot yet say." He bowed deeply. "The prosecution feels that these cases may be connected."

"Oh?" The Judge raised an eyebrow.

"We believe that the connection between these cases may help establish the defendant's motive," Pinkerton continued.

Phoenix looked over at Licia. Her expression was completely neutral.

_What is he playing at? _Phoenix thought. He looked over at the prosecution's bench, trying to get a read off Pinkerton. But if Pinkerton had any tricks up his sleeve, he was hiding them pretty well. The only clue Phoenix had about Pinkerton's mental state was his disheveled appearance, but he was behaving normally, otherwise.

"The prosecution calls Carmen Ghia to the stand." Pinkerton folded his arms across his chest and waited while Carmen was escorted into the courtoom by a pair of bailiffs.

Mia looked over at Phoenix. "Get ready." She frowned, then looked straight ahead at the witness stand.

Carmen calmly walked to the stand and nervously smoothed her brown curls.

"Witness, state your name and profession," said Pinkerton.

"Licia! I'm so sorry it's come to this!" Carmen said. Her hands were shaking.

"Your name and occupation," Pinkerton repeated. "You can visit the Detention Center and apologize later."

"Oh. Right. Carmen Ghia, stage manager and theatrical maid-of-all-work!" She smiled weakly. "Sorry."

"Five years ago, you were a suspect in the death of a singer, were you not?" Pinkerton asked.

Carmen nodded.

"Please tell the court about this incident."

Carmen swallowed. "I had just started helping Maestro out with the props. That night was Sarah Bellum's farewell performance. It was her last performance of _Madame Butterfly _with us. Incidentally, did you know that Licia is most famous for her portrayal of Madame Butterfly? Like, she's the very best Madame Butterfly in the world!"

The Judge shook his head. "Let's keep with the facts of this case, please."

Carmen bit her lip, and nodded, her brown curls bobbing up and down with each nod. "Right. Sorry, Your Honor. Well, as you know, Madame Butterfly commits suicide at the end of the opera. Only...sometime during the intermission, the fake _wakizashi _that was being used was switched with a real one, and...Sarah Bellum really did slit her throat and die onstage."

The spectators began whispering amongst themselves.

"Her death was ruled a suicide," Carmen continued, "Because Luciano Puccini was able to produce a suicide note on the stand. But..." She looked down and started twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "The note was a forgery. You see, Luciano had begun an affair with me-"

"That's a lie!" Licia snapped. Every eye in the courtroom turned on her. "He...he-"

"It's the truth. Of course, he was just using me..." Carmen looked up and idly tapped a forefinger against her lips.

"You're lying!" Licia cried, "He didn't start seeing you until this year!" She'd clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles were white. Phoenix eyed her with concern.

_Man, I've never seen her this upset before. She wasn't even this upset when she thought I was working with the prosecution to get her found guilty..._

Carmen shook her head. "That's when we restarted our affair."

The crowd exploded.

"Order! Order!" The Judge punctuated his words with a rap of the gavel. When the crowd in the galleries had quieted, he looked down at Licia. "You're on thin ice, Ms. Puccini. If you interrupt again, I will have you held in contempt."

Licia shrank back in her seat and looked down at the floor without saying a word.

"Go on, Ms. Ghia," Pinkerton said.

"You see," Carmen took a deep breath and rested both hands on the witness stand as if to steady herself. "He was using me to get close to Maestro so that you could get a job, Licia. But Maestro was thinking of choosing Mrs. Bellum's daughter to replace her. Luci couldn't have that, so _he _switched the fake _wakizashi _out with the real one." She sighed. "Isn't it romantic? He was so devoted to Licia that he arranged a death so that she could find work!"

Phoenix winced. _Romantic...isn't exactly the word I'd use. Twisted, maybe. _

Licia shook her head. Her hands shook violently, her lower lip trembled. "N-no."

Carmen smoothed her hair again and continued.

"But he wasn't counting on my being arrested...so he forged the note and brought it to court, claiming that he found it in the locker room," Carmen said. "Licia found out about it last week, and she was so upset she said she'd kill him. Of course we'd both had a little too much to drink, so I didn't take her seriously..."

Licia buried her face in her hands. "It's not true," she mumbled, "Not true."

Phoenix decided to take matters into his own hands. "Objection!"

Carmen fixed her green eyes on his. "Yes, Phoenix?"

"When did she find out? Who told her?"

"I..uh.." Carmen grinned. "I told her after we'd had a few drinks after rehearsal last week. Geez, weren't you listening? I thought you were better than this!"

Phoenix winced again, then slumped forward. _I—argh, how do they always manage to turn things back around on me! _He straightened up and looked back at Carmen.

_She's lying. She has to be._

"You don't believe me, do you?" Carmen purred.

"Phoenix," Mia said, "We don't have evidence. It's her word against your client's."

_She's right, but..._

"Let it go," Mia urged. "We'll turn this around."

Licia had all but curled up into a ball in her seat. She wound her arms tightly around herself. Her black hair hung over her face like a veil, and her whole body trembled.

"Not true," she whimpered, "Not true."

"I'm so sorry, Licia," Carmen purred, although she looked anything but sorry. She was grinning from ear-to-ear in a way that reminded Phoenix of the way his old friend Larry would grin when he'd been caught doing something stupid.

"Do you have any further questions, Mr. Wright?" asked the Judge.

He shook his head. "No, Your Honor."

"Very well. You may leave, Ms. Ghia." The Judge brought down his gavel and turned his attention to Pinkerton. "Mr. Pinkerton. Does the prosecution have another witness?"

"We do," he said. "We would like to call Angelica de Los Angeles to the stand once again."

_What?_

"If I may bring this updated autopsy report to the attention of the court," Pinkerton went on. "The victim was killed by atropine poisoning. We believe that Miss de Los Angeles can shed some light on this."

From the galleries on the prosecution's side, Edgeworth locked eyes with Phoenix. Phoenix knew the look in his eyes all too well. _He's figured something out. Maybe he's even gotten the truth worked out. But did he let Pinkerton in on the truth?_

Phoenix nodded slightly as Angelica took the stand again.

Angelica was wearing her pink suit again, but she'd straightened her blonde hair and pulled the front away from her face, exposing her forehead.

Pinkerton opened his mouth to speak just as a roll of thunder pierced the tense silence in the courtroom.

There was another, louder peal of thunder, a flash of lightning, and then everything went black.

_Damn! The power's out!_

Someone screamed. A child cried. Somewhere close to Phoenix, someone started running, stumbled, and then started running again. Phoenix turned toward the sound and was knocked to the ground by the force of someone slamming into him. He staggered to his feet and felt around—Licia should have been sitting somewhere close by, but where was she?

_Licia! Did she make a run for it?_

_**APRIL 6- DISTRICT COURTHOUSE**_

Licia hadn't expected to escape her trial so easily. She aimlessly felt her way along the walls of the courthouse. Where would she go? It had been stupid to run. She'd just get hauled back in. She took a tentative step forward and winced when she rammed her shin into something hard. She reached out with one hand and felt the corner of a table.

_Why did I run? Stupid stupid..._

She clenched her hands and felt a sharp sting in her left palm. Surprised, she opened her hands and heard something clatter to the ground.

_What...why was I holding that?_

She slowly, carefully knelt and felt around for the thing she had dropped.

_The so-called murder weapon. Damn, it's sharp._

When she had found it, she gingerly picked it up by the hilt and held it. Her world had fallen to pieces around her. The husband she loved had murdered an innocent woman. Her husband, the saint, who would have given a stranger the clothes from his back.

_Nononononono-_

Her husband, who had been having an affair with Carmen from the beginning.

_There's no way I'm getting acquitted after everything Carmen said. And worst of all, no one will believe that I never said those things. Today is the first time I've heard any of this...I didn't know he'd had an affair with Carmen while Ben and I were still in Tokyo. I certainly had never heard that it was Luci who had arranged for that poor woman to die. It can't be true...it...can't...be..._

Licia clutched her wounded hand to her chest and let herself cry.

She thought of their hasty wedding in Berlin. How embarrassed Luciano had been when he'd bought a ring that didn't fit her. How he never insisted that they sleep in the same room. How he never forced himself on her, never gave her anything she didn't want or took anything from her. How could that man have murdered anyone?

She thought of when she had been pregnant with Ben, how Luciano would kneel, throw his arms around her, kiss her belly. How he'd talk to the baby.

_He was the happiest man in the maternity ward on the day Ben was born._

She thought, then, of Ben. He was a happy, laid-back child. He'd hardly ever cried, even as a baby. She thouht of how Ben's smile could melt even the coldest heart.

How Ben had cried the last time she'd seen him! Carmen had brought him to the detention center and Licia had held his hand and promised him that Phoenix Wright would make it better while they cried together, all three of them. It had been two days since then, and yet how long ago it seemed! She had been confident in Phoenix then, but as her trial had dragged on, she had begun to lose hope. Perhaps her case would be the one that finally tarnished Phoenix Wright's perfect win record.

_I've lost everything. My illusions of Luciano...Bram...my career...and soon, I'll lose Ben._

She tightened her grip on the dagger's handle.

_I'm Madame Butterfly after all._

She took a deep breath and held the dagger against her chest with her hand. She sighed, and lowered it.

_This is stupid. What if Mr. Wright finds something that will help?_

She shook her head. Phoenix Wright had done his best for her, but that was all he could do. If only the Jurist System were still in existence, like in those old courtroom dramas! She would have testified before a jury. Surely she could have swayed a jury...but she couldn't sway the Judge. Or Pinkerton, either.

_Mr. Wright won't find anything. There's nothing left to find. All I can do now is...take matters into my own hands._

She put the dagger back against her chest, then she slowly took hold of it with her other hand, wincing as her wounded hand closed around the hilt. She laughed a short, sharp laugh that was almost a sob. _How many times have I done this onstage?_

Her thoughts drifted again, to Ben. She started singing softly, words she'd sung hundreds of times.

"Though you must never know it, it's for you, my love, for you I'm dying..."

* * *

_**DISTRICT COURTROOM NO. 2**_

After what felt like an eternity, the emergency generators kicked in. The courtroom was in chaos. Evidence was strewn about the courtroom. Chairs lay overturned. The Judge fruitlessly slammed down his gavel while the crowd in the galleries huddled together.

"The defendant's gone missing!" cried a bailiff.

Pinkerton and Phoenix locked eyes.

"And the murder weapon! It's gone, too!"

Predictably, the crowd panicked.

"What are you doing? Catch her!" shrieked a woman.

"Where's the witnesses?" called another man, "Send a bailiff, she might go after them!"

Pinkerton pushed his way through the crowd and bolted out of the courtroom.

_I don't think I've ever seen him run so fast._

Phoenix followed suit. He didn't know where Mia was, or if the shock of the power outage would have caused her to leave Pearl's body. What he was concerned about was his client's well-being, and, strangely enough, Pinkerton's.

_If Licia hurt herself or went after Miss Angelica, would he be all right? Would he blame himself?_

Phoenix didn't want to find out. _I hope we're able to find her before- _

He ran down the hall toward the defendant lobby, where Pinkerton had run, and...

It was Pinkerton who found Licia slumped against a wall just outside the courtroom, with the dagger halfway buried in her chest. Bright, crimson blood pooled around the dagger and soaked her shirt. Her left hand was bloody, too, although Phoenix couldn't tell if she'd cut her left hand or if it was just bloody because of what she'd done. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. _Oh God. Not this. _

Pinkerton knelt beside her and carefully pulled her into a kneeling position. He cradled her head against his chest.

Phoenix, not knowing what else to do, pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

"Please state your emergency."

"A woman's stabbed herself in the chest," Phoenix said, as slowly and calmly as he could. "At the District Courthouse. In main lobby of Courtroom Number 2. I can't tell how serious it is...just send someone at once!"

Phoenix looked back at Pinkerton. His brown hair had fallen into his eyes, but he didn't seem to care.

He was holding Licia against his chest and slowly rocking back and forth. Phoenix couldn't read the expression on his face.

A crowd of people had started to gather around them.

"What's this, Mama?"

"Don't look, sweetie."

"She must be guilty. Why would she stab herself otherwise?"

"At least she didn't go after the witnesses."

A bright flash lit up the room. At first, Phoenix thought it was lightning, but then there was another flash, closer to him. He looked over and saw a reporter snapping photos as quickly as his fingers could press the button.

_Ugh, how sick. _

Licia's eyes opened, just halfway. She reached out with her right hand and grabbed Pinkerton's sleeve.

"Bram," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "You finally came." She weakly released his sleeve and gently stroked his cheek.

"I..." Pinkerton's mouth worked with emotion. "Why did you—what were you thinking?"

"I really am Madame Butterfly," Licia said with a delirious smile. Her eyes closed again as her hand fell back into her lap.

Pinkerton looked up at Phoenix. "You called an ambulance-"

"They should be here any minute," Phoenix said.

"It hurts," Licia sighed.

"It can't be too serious," Pinkerton mumbled, "She's talking."

The paramedics arrived then, pushing through the crowd that had gathered around Pinkerton and Licia. Two paramedics gently pulled them apart and carefully hoisted Licia onto the stretcher.

They rushed her down the hallway and out the doors. Pinkerton followed them. "I have to be with her now!" he said. "I'm riding the ambulance with her."

Edgeworth pushed his way through the crowd in time to see the paramedics rush Licia down the hall, with Pinkerton close behind them. He shook his head. "So she turned the dagger against herself."

"Mr. Nick! Mr. Nick! What happened?" Pearl squeezed through the crowd. She stopped and covered her mouth with both her hands when she saw the blood on the courthouse's floor.

"Where's Ms. Licia?" she asked.

Phoenix looked up. "She's...hurt herself, Pearls. She's been taken to the hospital."

"Well...we should go wait, shouldn't we?" Pearl's eyes watered.

"I don't think that's a good idea—"

"No, I...I think we should," Edgeworth said. He carefully stood up. "Even if Pinkerton is already there."

Phoenix looked up at Edgeworth for a moment, and then rose to his feet as well.

Edgeworth smiled wryly. "You're her lawyer, Wright. Shouldn't you be there for her when no one else is?"

_What would Mia do?_

Phoenix looked from Edgeworth to Pearl, then back at Edgeworth. He nodded, just once.

"Let's go."

* * *

_**APRIL 6- HOTTI CLINIC, EMERGENCY WAITING ROOM**_

Pinkerton was engaged in a heated argument with the nurse when Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Pearl arrived.

"I need to be with her _right now_!"

"And I've told you that she's in surgery _right now_," the nurse said. "Look. We'll let you know if she's okay or not. Just sit tight, okay?"

Pinkerton sighed and walked over to the benches. His expression brightened a little when he saw Phoenix, Pearl, and Edgeworth. "So you came after all."

"It was the right thing to do," Phoenix said.

"Do you think she'll be all right, Mr. Pinkerton?" Pearl whispered.

Pinkerton shrugged. "There's nothing we can do except wait." Although his expression was neutral, his hands were balled into tight fists.

_He cares more than he's letting on, _Phoenix thought.

"Why did she do it, Mr. Nick?" Pearl asked. She blinked a few times. Fat tears rolled down her face.

Phoenix shook his head. "She stopped believing."

"In us?" Pearl bit her lip.

"In everything," Phoenix said gently. _How on Earth do I explain this to a child? Pearl has been through a lot, but still..._

"She's always been like this," Edgeworth murmured. "She always overreacts. It's amazing she's been able to keep her career."

"I never thought she'd ever get to this point," Pinkerton said. He covered his eyes with one hand.

They waited in silence for what seemed like hours until a doctor emerged from behind the doors. She looked calm, yet...on edge. Her glasses slipped down her nose and she quickly adjusted them.

"You four are waiting to hear about Ms. Puccini, yes?"

Phoenix nodded.

"How is she?" Pinkerton blurted.

The doctor half-smiled. "She'll be all right. She missed her heart and didn't damage any major arteries. She's very lucky. If that dagger had been any deeper..."

"Can we see her?" asked Pearl.

The doctor sighed. "She's been through quite a lot..."

"Doctor," Pinkerton said, standing and walking toward her, "That woman is on trial for murder. I'm the prosecutor, and I need to ask her some questions."

The doctor crossed her arms. "Is that so?"

Pinkerton flashed his prosecutor's badge. "I won't strain her. But I do need a few minutes alone."

He looked back at Phoenix and Edgeworth, then at the doctor. "I'm asking for ten minutes alone with her. That's all."

"Very well, Mr. Prosecutor. Ten minutes. Then she needs to rest."


	16. Interlude: Hotti Clinic

_**APRIL 6, HOTTI CLINIC, ROOM 307**_

* * *

Pinkerton forgot everything he'd been planning to say when he saw Licia laying in her bed, with her eyes half-closed, so pale even her lips had lost their color. Her black hair was spread out behind her on the pillow.

He cautiously approached the bed.

Licia's eyes widened. "W-why are you here, Bram?"

"I-" _Why can't I find words?_

Licia sat up. She winced, and Pinkerton quickly stepped closer.

"Don't strain yourself," he said, before he could stop himself. Not knowing what else to say, he jammed a hand into his pocket. He felt something hard and metal. _The locket. I'd forgotten about it. _He slowly pulled it out of his pocket, opened it, stared at the picture of Ben for a moment, then closed it.

"He gave it to you, then?" Licia whispered. "Mr. Wright, I mean."

Pinkerton nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I was going to," Licia said, "But you..." She struggled to pull herself into a sitting position. Her grey eyes blazed with accusation. "I kept waiting and waiting..." She swallowed, bit her lip to hold back the tears. "I was going to tell you everything. But you never came."

"Everything?" Pinkerton tipped his head to one side.

"I was going to break off my engagement," Licia continued. "Why didn't you come?"

"I...I saw that headline in the paper about your wedding date, and I was..." _Hurt. More than hurt. Destroyed._

"You should have gotten my side of the story," Licia sighed. "You should have come anyway!"

"What about _my_ side of the story?" Pinkerton countered. "Did it occur to you that I might have felt betrayed, Licia? Did you think of that? If you had told me, do you think I would have stayed?"

"I-" Licia took a deep breath and gasped in pain, instinctively grabbing at her chest. "I should have told you the truth from the beginning," she admitted. She fell limply against her pillows. "Before things got out of hand." She looked at the locket in Pinkerton's hand. "Did you know? That Ben is..."

Pinkerton shook his head. "You should have told me," he repeated.

"I...at the one-acts...Edgeworth found out about Ben and I told him to tell you. He wouldn't. I couldn't forgive him for that. He thought that maybe it would have been better if you didn't know."

"I wish he had told me, too," Pinkerton replied. He took a deep breath and looked away from Licia, training his gaze on the heart-rate monitor. _So I don't have to look at those reproachful eyes..._

"I wish it could have been different for us," Licia said after a long silence.

_So do I, _Pinkerton thought. He took a step closer to the hospital bed and held the locket out to Licia. "I believe this is yours."

Her fingers brushed his as she took the locket from him. "Thank you," she said.

"Tell me the truth now," Pinkerton said, quickly changing the subject. He shifted his weight to his left leg and crossed his arms. "It doesn't look good for you. So tell me the truth."

"And if the truth doesn't fit your preconceived notion?" Licia asked with a knowing smile. "I remember how you are when you've made up your mind."

"Try me," Pinkerton replied. He sighed. "Look. Your husband died of atropine poisoning. In case you didn't know, atropine comes from a plant called belladonna. You happen to have one of those in your backyard. Do forgive me for being skeptical."

Licia's eyes widened. "He died of what? But he was stabbed, wasn't he?"

"Yes. After he died, he was stabbed."

"I didn't kill Luciano," Licia said. "I didn't hire anyone, I didn't arrange for his death. I loved him, although right now I'm not sure how to feel about him."

"Understandable," Pinkerton murmured. He watched Licia's face carefully for any signs of a lie. He considered the facts. She dearly loved her son. She claimed that she dearly loved her husband, and everyone who knew them as a couple seemed to believe she did. She had no motive, and if she truly hadn't poisoned her husband, no weapon..._And there's the matter of that postmortem stab wound...but if the witnesses only saw her stab him once, then how did it happen? He was still alive when she was supposed to have stabbed him._

"Are you going to fight to find me guilty still?"

Licia's question jolted Pinkerton from his thoughts. He shook his head and almost smiled. "I'm going to fight for the truth. That's something Edgeworth has been urging me to do."

She thoughtlessly reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"You aren't Madame Buttefly," Pinkerton said. "You lived."

He found himself leaning over her, bending so close that his lips nearly touched hers.

But she pressed her hand against his chest, gently pushed him away, and shook her head.

"We were very young," she said after a long pause. "It wasn't...it wasn't what we thought it was."

_She's right, of course._

Pinkerton's ears burned. He quickly stood straight up and took several steps away from the bed. "I should go...investigate."

He left before Licia could say anything else.

_**APRIL 6- HOTTI CLINIC, EMERGENCY WAITING ROOM**_

* * *

Pinkerton left the clinic without saying a word to Phoenix, Edgeworth or Pearl.

"He could have at least told us how she was," Pearl said with a pout. She frowned and looked over at the nurses' station. "Do you think we're allowed to see her?"

Phoenix shook his head. "I think we should wait. Licia needs her rest."

"We should do more investigating!" Pearl said. Her brown eyes flashed with excitement.

"I don't think there's anything else—"

"But how did the victim get poisoned? And how was he stabbed after he died?" Pearl pointed out.

"It would be a good idea to explore those questions," Edgeworth said.

Phoenix stood up and took Pearl's hand. "If we hurry," he said, "We can catch the next bus."  
Edgeworth chuckled. "You won't have to worry about that, Wright. I'll give you a ride."

_**APRIL 6, RIVERA THEATRE, BACKSTAGE**_

* * *

"I don't think the maestro likes us very much," Pearl whimpered. Phoenix and Pearl had had to fight their way past Don Octave and onto the stage until Detective Gumshoe had finally pulled him away and allowed Phoenix and Pearl onto the stage.

_My face still hurts, _Phoenix thought. _That Maestro's got a mean right hook._

Pearl carefully picked up a wine cask from the table. "Mr. Nick...do you think this is important?" Phoenix looked at where she had taken the wine cask from. There were two wine glasses on the table, one labelled "Licia", and the other labelled "Luciano".

"We should take these to Mr. Scruffy Detective!" Pearl chirped. "He could test them for atropine."

"I don't know if that would be any help to our case, because the plant atropine-"

"But we don't know for sure that the victim was poisoned at home, do we?" Pearl set down the wine cask and looked up at Phoenix.

_Maybe we should take these to Gumshoe after all. _Phoenix gingerly picked up the wine glass labelled "Luciano" and carefully walked toward the lobby.

Someone knocked into him, hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Phoenix gasped and, without thinking, let go of the wine glass, which promptly shattered on the hard, concrete floor.

"_OMIGAWD I AM SO SO SO SORRY!" _

Phoenix looked away from the the shattered remains of the wine glass and looked up at Carmen Ghia. She fervently shook her head.

"Oh, Phoenix Wright. I was in a hurry and didn't see you!" She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry about court today. And I'm sad to hear about Licia. Is she okay?"

"She's going to be fine," Phoenix said. He looked back at the shattered glass. _Carmen didn't do that on purpose, did she? _

Phoenix gestured toward the prop table. "We're going to have to borrow the wine cask...and that other glass, too."

Carmen slowly rose to her feet. "But...but there's a show tonight!" She shifted her weight to one side and pouted. It was, surprisingly, an adorable pout, but Phoenix was not going to be swayed.

He shook his head. "It's for the investigation."

Carmen groaned. "Ugh, so you're going to make me go to the trouble of finding another wine cask? Maestro-"

"Will have your head," Phoenix finished. "He'll just have to deal with it." _I'm not feeling especially forgiving. I mean, he just punched me in the face._

Phoenix motioned for Pearl to take the wine cask and the other glass while Carmen stormed off to a broom closet. As he walked past the remains of Luciano's wine glass, he paused and looked down. One of the shards of the wine glass was big enough that Gumshoe might be able to test it. With a quick glance in the direction that Carmen had gone, he bent down and surreptitiously took the large piece of the shattered wine glass.

"Let's hurry, Pearls. Before she comes back."

_**APRIL 6- POLICE STATION, CRIMINAL AFFAIRS**_

* * *

"You want me to do _what_, pal?" Gumshoe's brown eyes widened in alarm. He fiddled with the buttons on his tattered green coat and looked at everything in the room...except Phoenix.

"I just want to see about getting these tested for atropine," Phoenix repeated. "Annd...maybe fingerprints."

Gumshoe sighed and crossed his arms. "These things take time, pal." He looked warily at the broken shard that Phoenix held. "I don't even know if you have enough sample there to test."

Phoenix gestured toward the other wine glass and the wine cask that Pearl carried.

Gumshoe's eyes widened again. He grinned and started scratching the back of his neck. "Well, okay, pal. I'll do what I can. Do you need anything else?"

Phoenix started to shake his head, then he remembered the bottle of almond extract he'd found in the vanity in Licia's dressing room. He pulled it out of his court record. "Could you check this for my client's fingerprints, too? Or, really, anyone's fingerprints"

Gumshoe shrugged. "Sure thing, pal." He took the bottle of almond extract, and then he took the wine cask, the intact wine glass, and the shard of the broken glass. "I'll call you as soon as the results are in, okay?"

Phoenix nodded. He turned to leave when his phone rang. He slowly took it out of his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Wright. Our missing witness has contacted the Prosecutor's Office. She wants to testify tomorrow." Edgeworth sounded calmer than Phoenix had heard him in a while.

"Do you...suspect her?" Phoenix asked.

"I have some theories," Edgeworth said, "But anyway. Be ready for her testimony. I've got to let Bram know about this, too." He hung up before Phoenix could ask him any more questions.

Pearl tugged on his sleeve. "Mr. Nick...?"

Phoenix shrugged. "The missing witness wants to testify tomorrow."

"I see," Pearl said, tilting her head. "What do you plan on doing?"

Phoenix crossed his arms. "I...I don't know."


	17. Trial, Final Day: Trial Former

_**APRIL 7- DISTRICT COURT, DEFENDANT LOBBY NO. 2**_

* * *

"Where's your client, Phoenix?"

Phoenix slowly turned to face Mia. "It's been a long night, Mia." He sighed and explained the situation as concisely as possible.

Her brown eyes widened, just for a moment. Then her expression darkened. "That's...that's not good."

Phoenix nodded. "I'm committed to fighting as hard as I can for her."

Mia smiled. "Good. Now, did they find the missing witness?"

Phoenix nodded. "She's supposed to testify today."

Mia crossed her arms and nodded. "That witness could be our link to the truth. For your client's sake, we need to get to the bottom of this."

_**APRIL 7- DISTRICT COURT, COURTROOM NO. 2**_

* * *

A heavy silence hung over the courtroom as the Judge brought down his gavel. He looked first at Phoenix.

"Mr. Wright. How is your client?"

Phoenix swallowed. "She is stable, Your Honor. We were unable to see her last night, but the doctors say that she will be fine."

The Judge nodded. "This is the last day of the trial. Are you ready, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix nodded again and the Judge turned his attention to Pinkerton.

"Is the prosecution ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Pinkerton only tilted his head slightly.

"The prosecution may call its first witness to the stand."

"The prosecution would like to revisit Angelica de Los Angeles' testimony," Pinkerton said. "She was able to provide us with some additional details."

From the galleries, Edgeworth caught Phoenix's eye and nodded ever so slightly.

_He's on to something. What did he figure out?_

Angelica wordlessly took the stand. She made sure to send a murderous glare in Phoenix's direction. Then she fluffed her curls and grinned at Pinkerton.

"Witness," Pinkerton said. "You said that you saw the defendant stab the victim."

Angelica nodded. "It had to have been her. I'm not sure how she avoided getting blood on herself, though!"

_I think I know what needs to be done here, _Phoenix thought.

"Hold it!"

Angelica glared at Phoenix. "Trying to make a liar of me again, Mr. Lawyer?"

"I'm just curious...you're saying that the victim died of a stab wound inflicted by my client?"

"You aren't as dumb as you look," Angelica replied.

Phoenix shook his head. "Too bad you're wrong, Miss Angelica."

Angelica's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you mean, Lawyer?"

Phoenix pulled the updated autopsy report out of his court record. "The victim died of atropine poisoning, and was stabbed _after _his death. If you only saw my client stab him once, when she was _supposed _to stab him...then I find it hard to believe that you witnessed the murder!"

Angelica winced, then grinned. "Poison, hm?"

Phoenix nodded. "Traces of atropine were found in his system."

"You do know that Licia has a poisonous plant in her backyard, don't you?" Angelica purred.

The crowd in the gallery went wild.

"Order! _Order!_"

Phoenix put his hands on his hips and grinned triumphantly. "Forensics has yet to confirm that the victim was poisoned at home."

"She could have brought the poison to rehearsal with her," Angelica countered.

"And how would she have done that?" Phoenix shot back.

Angelica chewed on her thumbnail. "Welll, she could have had a container to put it in! Like that little brown bottle that was in her vanity!" Angelica nodded. "Yeah! She must have brought the poison in that bottle!"

The Judge slammed down his gavel and looked down at Phoenix. "Were you deliberately concealing evidence, Mr. Wright?"

_Urk! That woman...but how did she know about the almond extract? If that's what was in the bottle after all..._

Phoenix nervously scratched his neck. "I..um, actually had it sent to forensics for testing, and I didn't want to mention it until I got the results..." _Good save, Wright!_

"So even if Licia didn't stab him," Angelica said, "She still killed him."

"Then how do you explain the postmortem stab wound?" Phoenix retorted.

Angelica winced, then shrugged.

"Answer the question," Pinkerton said. His eyes narrowed.

Phoenix did a double-take. _Did he just...is he trying to help?_

Angelica grimaced. "I can't explain it. She must have stabbed him to make sure he had really died."

Mia nudged Phoenix. "Phoenix, isn't there something about your client that would make it difficult for her to have poisoned the victim?"

_That's right! Licia is..._

"Objection!"

Angelica rolled her eyes. "What is it, Lawyer?"

"My client is allergic to almonds. If she so much as touches anything with almonds in it, she'll get terrible hives!"

"What's your point?" Angelica snapped.

"That brown bottle you saw in her vanity? That bottle was labelled as 'almond extract'."

Angelica snorted. "Her costume had gloves. We went over this on the first day of the trial. Geez, you must have a goldfish brain."

Phoenix shook his head. "There was some almond extract smeared on the bottle. It would've soaked through her gloves."

A fine sweat broke out on Angelica's brow. "So...so what? I'm sure she had an Epi-Pen!"

Phoenix shook his head again. "An Epi-Pen wouldn't do anything about hives. I saw her bare hands when I was hired. No hives."

Angelica started chewing on her nails.

"There's something else," Phoenix said, "the Maestro said that a little while before the murder, you'd brought an almond cheesecake to rehearsal."

"So what if I did?" Angelica snapped. She wrapped her arms around herself and glared at Phoenix. "It's a crime to bring a cheesecake to rehearsal?"

"I can't help but be suspicious," Phoenix said, "About you bringing an almond cheesecake to rehearsal when two of your castmates are deathly allergic to almonds."

The Judge's eyes widened. He blinked a few times, then thoughtfully stroked his long, white beard. "He has a point. Witness, were you planning on poisoning your castmates?"

Angelica's response was to start crying. "I...I didn't know they were allergic until today! I j-just wanted to be nice and share some homebaked goods w-with m-my castmates..." Her neatly coiffed blonde curls began to fall out of their elaborate hairstyle as tears streamed down her face. "And—and how could I have poisoned sweet old Luciano? Everyone loved him."

The Judge bit his lip. "I..ah...um, Pinkerton do you still need her?"

Pinkerton nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

_Wow, he really is trying to help. Was Edgeworth able to get through to him? Or...was Licia?_

The Judge sighed. "In that case, there will be a ten-minute recess while the witness...um, calms down."

_**DEFENDANT LOBBY NO. 2**_

* * *

"Well, that wasn't a complete disaster," Mia said.

"If you want to look at it that way." Phoenix sighed and started massaging his temples. "Miss Angelica's got the Judge on her side now, though. Urk."

"So we'll turn it around. Don't you think there was something suspicious about her testimony?" Mia folded her arms over her chest and grinned.

_Well, yeah, lots of things._

"She couldn't explain the stab wound," Phoenix said. "Or...she explained that my client stabbed the victim to make sure he was dead."

"Which would be impossible, since all of the witnesses said that she only stabbed him once, when her character was supposed to 'stab' his character," Mia affirmed.

"And it's suspicious that she knew about the bottle of almond extract," Phoenix said. "It's too convenient. Unless she was rifling around in Ms. Puccini's vanity, she'd never have known, unless..."

Mia looked expectantly at Phoenix. "Unless...?"

"Sorry to interrupt, pal!" boomed a familiar baritone voice.

_Urk._

Phoenix turned to face Gumshoe, who grinned broadly.

"I got the results from the test. That wine cask and both those glasses tested positive for atropine."

_All of them? Really?_

"What about the bottle of almond extract? Could you find any prints?"

"Yeah, we found some prints..."

"Well, whose are they?"

Gumshoe grinned and scratched his neck. "Well...they're...they're Miss Angelica's, pal."

_What? I wonder..._

"Thanks, Gumshoe," Phoenix said. "Is there anything else?"

Gumshoe nodded. "A couple of things. That stuff in the bottle? That ain't almond extract, pal. It's atropine. Oh, and...Angelica de Los Angeles is a stage name. Her real name is Beverly Bellum."

"Wait, what?" .

_Bellum? I_s_ there a connection between Miss Angelica and that suicide five years ago?_

Mia gently tapped Phoenix on the shoulder. "Court's about to start, Phoenix."

_This is getting more tangled by the minute! But if all of the wine glasses tested positive for atropine...maybe that's something I can work with._

_**DISTRICT COURT, COURTROOM NO. 2**_

* * *

"Court is back in session," the Judge announced, bringing his gavel down. He looked down at Angelica.

"Will you be all right, Miss?"

She sniffled and nodded.

"Good." The Judge turned his attention to Phoenix. "Mr. Wright. If you push this witness too hard, I'll have to penalize you. We can't afford to lose more time if she breaks down again."

Phoenix nodded. "Understood." He double-checked his evidence and took a deep breath.

"Miss Angelica, you said that you saw almond extract in my client's vanity."

"I did," she affirmed.

"Objection!" Pinkerton crossed his arms and shook his head. "This line of questioning is pointless, Wright. You've already asked about that."

Phoenix shook his head. "I had the bottle of almond extract and the wine glasses sent to forensics for testing. They came back during the recess."

"Objection overruled," the Judge said. "What did you find out, Mr. Wright?"

"The bottle of almond extract, the wine cask, the wine glass assigned to my client, and a fragment of the wine glass assigned to the victim all tested positive for atropine."

The crowd in the gallery began whispering amongst themselves.

"Why was there only a fragment of the victim's glass?" asked the Judge. He blinked a few times.

"I...accidentally dropped the wine glass, and it shattered on the stage floor," Phoenix admitted.

The Judge shook his head and sighed. "You ought to be more careful with the evidence, Mr. Wright. Continue with your line of questioning."

Phoenix nodded and looked back at Angelica. She was glaring daggers at him.

"I'm curious, Miss Angelica...why would the wine cask and both my client and the victim's wine glasses test postive for atropine?"

Angelica gritted her teeth. "Maybe Licia was planning a murder-suicide? She _did _try to kill herself yesterday."

Phoenix shook his head. "I don't think so. She loves her son too much." He grinned and presented the bottle of almond extract.

"Your fingerprints were found on this bottle." Phoenix put his hands on hips and looked down his nose at the witness stand.

"I...what?" Angelica's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I...er, she left the drawer in her vanity open and I picked it up and looked at it! And besides, I did make that almond cheesecake...uh...oops..."

_Gotcha._

"You'd have a good reason to get rid of my client, wouldn't you?" Phoenix asked. "With her out of the way, you could take the lead role and become a star."

"But why would I go the trouble of getting rid of Luciano?" Angelica purred.

"I have an idea about that," Phoenix said. "Five years ago, an opera singer named Sarah Bellum died during a performance of _Madame Butterfly. _In Carmen Ghia's testimony yesterday, she said that Luciano Puccini had been responsible for her death."

"And what does that have to do with _me, _Mr. Lawyer?" The corner of Angelica's left eye twitched.

"Angelica de Los Angeles is a stage name, isn't it?" Phoenix asked.

Angelica gritted her teeth and glared at Phoenix.

"Your real name is Beverly Bellum. So I wonder...are you related to the woman who died? Bellum isn't a very common last name, and we found a white scarf with blood on it poking out of your locker backstage."

Angelica squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists.

_All right! Here comes the confession-_

"I'm not talking anymore," Angelica said flatly. She looked over at Pinkerton. "I'm done testifying, Mr. Prosecutor."

Pinkerton winced. "Er...are you sure?"

"I'm not going to come here and be accused of murder!" she shrieked. "I'm not talking."

The crowd, predictably, went wild.

The Judge banged his gavel. "Order! I will have order!" He looked down at Angelica. "If you don't wish to testify further, please know that you are giving up-"

"Stuff it, Gramps!" Angelica snapped. "I saw what happened when Licia wouldn't testify. I know my rights, and I'm done."

"Very well, Miss...er...you can go." The Judge looked over at Pinkerton. "Do you have another witness?"

Pinkerton nodded. "We have one last witness. You will recall that on the day of the murder, a woman named Sarah Bellum was questioned at the scene. She claimed to have attempted first aid on the victim. However, when we tried to contact her before, we discovered that the Sarah Bellum living at the address given to us had been dead for five years."

"I remember that," said the Judge.

"She contacted us yesterday, and she wants to testify," Pinkerton said. He locked eyes with Phoenix and nodded almost imperceptibly.

_Is he giving me a hint or something?_

"The prosecution would like to call Sarah Bellum to the stand."

Phoenix swallowed. _This is it. It's time to get to the bottom of this, once and for all._


	18. Trial, Final Day: Bitter Taste of Truth

Phoenix was not expecting Sarah Bellum to look the way she did. She was a tall, thin woman. She wore a white suit, a fashionable white scarf that covered all but the front of her gray hair, and big, dark sunglasses.

"Excuse me," the Judge said, "But...could you take those off in court?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Your Honor," she said in a soft, breathy voice, "But I'm very photosensitive. The flourescent lights in here hurt my eyes."

"Oh," said the Judge. "Well...erm, all right."

"Witness," Pinkerton said, "Please state your name and occupation."

"I'd really prefer to just testify and get out of here."

"We need to have your name and occupation on record," Pinkerton said.

"Fine. Sarah Bellum. Mortician."

_Mortician, huh?_

"Tell us what happened on the night of the murder."

She nodded and adjusted her sunglasses.

"Well, I've always been a big opera lover, and _Tosca _is one of my favorites." She smiled. "I bought tickets for the seats closest to the stage because I'm a big fan of Luciano Puccini. Anyway, when she stabbed him, he kind of...went funny and didn't sing his next line."

"Funny how?" asked Phoenix.

"He kind of made this choking noise and fell down with the dagger still in his chest. He started rambling about the moon and Endymion and...anyway, Licia ran over and rolled him over on his back while all the chorusters ran on stage. She started screaming for help—she's a good actress, I'll give her that. I climbed onstage to try and help. But it was no good. He was dead."

"I see," Phoenix asked. "I'll get back to your testimony later, but something is bothering me. Why did you give the police the wrong address when they questioned you?"

"I'm curious about this, too," said the Judge. "You do know that it is a crime to deliberately give false information to the police, don't you?"

Sarah stood stock still.

"Answer the question," said Pinkerton. He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "_Now._"

"I...I was scared," Sarah said. "I was scared that they'd accuse me of murdering the poor man!"

"How did you know the address of the Sarah Bellum who died five years ago?" Phoenix asked.

"Oh, I used to live a few doors down from her. I guess I was in such a state of shock and I was so worried about being accused that I gave her address instead of mine!" Sarah smiled and pushed up her sunglasses.

The Judge nodded. "That's perfectly reasonable."

_No, Your Honor, that isn't reasonable at all, _Phoenix thought. _Anyway, something she just said strikes me as being a little odd._

"Why would you be worried about being accused of murder? There was a very solid case against my client already," Phoenix pointed out.

Sarah shrugged. "Sometimes, the people who try to help are held responsible for a crime. I've heard of people who attempted first aid on a person who later died being charged with manslaughter."

The Judge looked down at Phoenix. "Are you satisfied with her reasons for giving the police misinformation?"

Phoenix nodded, but only so he could placate the Judge.

"Then let's return to her testimony about the night of the crime," said the Judge.

Phoenix nodded and returned his attention to Sarah. "You're sure that my client stabbed the victim?"

She nodded.

"I don't believe that's possible," Phoenix said. "The victim was poisoned."

"You don't say," Sarah said calmly. "Well, maybe she stabbed him to make sure he was going to die."

Phoenix shook his head. "He was stabbed _after _he died."

Sarah's jaw dropped slightly. "Oh?" She tilted her head. "Well, maybe he died just as she stabbed him, yes?"

_Damn. She has a point...but..._

"There was no blood on her costume. You said that she rolled him over after he collapsed with the dagger in his chest. Surely she would have gotten blood on her if that had been the case."

"It takes blood a little while to pool, though, doesn't it?" Sarah crossed her arms. "She was only there for maybe a minute before the maestro jumped up and ushered her away from the body." She grinned and shrugged. "You see? No one but your client could have stabbed him."

"The wine cask and both the victim and my client's wine glasses tested postive for atropine," Phoenix countered. "As you may know, atropine is a rather potent poison."

"So it was a planned murder-suicide, was it?" Sarah purred.

Phoenix shook his head. "Why wouldn't my client have drank any of the wine in her glass if that were the case?"

"Perhaps she meant to do so after she'd stabbed the victim."

"Why would she call such attention to the victim's unusual state if that were the case, Ms. Bellum?" Phoenix pressed.

She shrugged. "Maybe she got cold feet? Realized what it was she had done? Either way, she killed the victim."

The Judge slammed down his gavel. "Thank you for your testimony, Ms. Bellum."

_No, _Phoenix thought, _this can't be how it ends! My client is not guilty! I know she isn't!_

"I believe I have enough evidence to render a verdict," the Judge said slowly.

_No, no, no..._ Phoenix slumped down at the bench and buried his face in his hands.

"Hold it!"

Every eye in the courtroom turned to Mia Fey. She stared straight ahead at Sarah, with a determined gleam in her eye.

"C-Chief?"

"Don't give up like this," Mia said. "This isn't like you, Phoenix. Think! You found something in the theatre that will turn her testimony on its head! You do still believe in your client, right?"

Phoenix nodded.

The Judge blinked at Mia in surprise. "D-does the defense have anything to say?"

"We do, Your Honor," Mia said. "We would like to ask the witness about one thing."

The Judge looked over at Pinkerton. "Is this all right with you?"

Pinkerton shrugged. "One question won't do any harm."

"Very well then, Mr. Wright, you may ask one question, and one question only."

"Understood, Your Honor." Phoenix took a deep breath.

_This is it. It's a long shot, but..._

Phoenix presented the prop dagger to the court. "Do you know what this is, Ms. Bellum?"

She sighed. "That's obviously the murder weapon. Stop wasting my time."

Phoenix shook his head. "Watch this." He held the prop dagger in his hand and slammed the blade against his palm. The blade retracted into the handle, but to anyone watching, it looked as though Phoenix had just stabbed himself in the hand.

The crowd in the galleries erupted.

"Did you see that dumb lawyer just stab himself in the hand?"

"What is he thinking, doing that?"

"Is that lawyer's hand hurting, Mama?"

The Judge banged his gavel on the podium. "Mr. Wright, what is the meaning of this? What is stabbing yourself possibly going to prove?"

Phoenix shook his head. "But I didn't stab myself, Your Honor." He pulled the dagger away from his palm and the blade sprang out of the handle. "This is a trick dagger that bears a strong resemblance to the murder weapon." He smiled at Sarah. "Do you know where we found this, Ms. Bellum?"

"I'm not sure what that's going to prove," Sarah said, "But I'll bite. Where did you find it?"

"This was found in the orchestra pit, wedged between the stage and one of the trumpet player's seats. As though it was dropped from the stage and fell there."

"Intriguing," Sarah said. Her expression remained completely neutral.

_Urk, I can't read her emotions while she has those stupid glasses on!_

"It is," Phoenix bluffed. "You know what else is interesting? The murder weapon was reported missing just before the murder, but afterward, this particular trick dagger was missing."

Sarah's jaw dropped. "And what has this got to do with me? I'm a witness, remember?"

Her sunglasses slipped down her face, and for a moment, Phoenix got a glimpse of her eyes.

_Green eyes. Just like that person..._

She quickly pushed her sunglasses up when she noticed Phoenix staring at her. "Am I done? I told you, I had nothing to do with this at all. I tried to save the poor man."

_Think, Phoenix! This has to be a trick, a disguise. Why else would she insist on wearing those sunglasses?_

"Ms. Bellum...I don't suppose we could get your fingerprints?" Phoenix asked.

She shook her head. "There is no way I'm going to let you do that."

"I think you should," Pinkerton said. "We have the fingerprints of everyone who works at the theatre that was involved in this incident. We should get yours, too. For the sake of thoroughness."

She shook her head. "I won't allow you to do that."

"Why?" Pinkerton asked. "Is there something you don't want us to know about you?"

"Oh, so now _you're _treating me like the criminal?" Sarah snarled. "First that slimy defense lawyer tries to pin it on me, and now you're joining in?"

"Not at all," Pinkerton said. He smirked. "It's procedure these days. Really, we should have fingerprinted you at the scene, but our detective turned his back after he got your address and you were nowhere to be found..."

"Why are you so worried about being fingerprinted?" Phoenix asked. "It shouldn't be a big deal...unless you aren't really who you say you are."

Sarah Bellum breathed rapidly. "I won't be treated this way! I want to leave!"

_Think, Phoenix. There was a white scarf a lot like the one Ms. Bellum is wearing poking out of a locker backstage...and the daggers were switched...wait._

"Sarah Bellum isn't your real name, is it?" Phoenix said.

Sarah started laughing. "Prove it."

"It _is_ very suspicious that you won't submit to a fingerprinting," Pinkerton said.

"And that you make sure no one can see your eyes," Phoenix added.

"And that you disappeared before we could get your fingerprints at the scene," Pinkerton finished.

Sarah kept laughing. "And if I were someone else, who would I be? And why would I disguise myself?"

"Because you were already fingerprinted at the scene," Phoenix said.

"And who do you think I really am?" Sarah challenged.

_Think, Phoenix. Who would have access to everything backstage? Futhermore...if the atropine came from the plant in Licia's backyard, who could have had access to that? And what would she have to gain from putting that bloody scarf in Angelica's locker?_

"You're..."

Every eye in the courtroom fell on him.

_I've got to get this right! I won't have any second chances._

"Yes?" Sarah said.

"You're Carmen Ghia," Phoenix said finally.

Sarah started laughing hysterically, until she was doubled over the stand. The sunglasses fell off of her face and broke on the courtroom's floor. She looked up, then, and locked eyes with Phoenix.

_My God..._

"I guess the game is up," she said. She spoke in her usual, brash voice instead of the soft, breathy voice she'd been using as "Sarah Bellum".

She slowly pulled the scarf off and let it fall to the floor. She did the same with the gray wig she'd been wearing and her brown curls sprang away from her head.

"You're good at your job, Mr. Lawyer."

The Judge blinked. "Wait, so the whole time...Sarah Bellum was Carmen Ghia?"

Carmen nodded. "I was so jealous. She had everything...looks...talent..._him..._" She sighed, looked down at the floor, and opened her mouth to speak. "I-" She shook her head and looked down at her nails.

"Please continue, Ms. Bel—er, Ghia," prompted the Judge.

Carmen nodded. "I had an affair with Luciano five years ago, like I said. While his wife was in Tokyo. He wanted to bring his wife to work for the Octave Opera Company, but the Maestro was thinking of having Sarah Bellum's daughter to replace her. I was so desperate to keep Luciano happy...I thought if his wife was chosen, he'd like me better...so I arranged for Sarah Bellum to have an accident." She swallowed. "I didn't mean for her to die. When she did, I forged the suicide note and left it where Luciano could find it. He never knew that it was anything but an accident." She laughed bitterly. "He stayed with Licia, anyway."

"And what about this murder?" Phoenix asked.

"We restarted our affair at the beginning of this year," Carmen said, "But he chose to stay with Licia again, and he wrote me that letter. I was devastated...so I decided to get rid of both of them."

"You couldn't have done all that alone," Pinkerton pointed out.

"_SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" _An unholy shriek rose out of the galleries.

Phoenix turned and saw Angelica de Los Angeles standing up in front of her seat, fervently waving her arms. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY A WORD, CARMEN!"

"No, Angelica. _You _shut up. It's too late. They've figured it out." Carmen sighed and shook her head.

"If you disturb this court again, Miss Angelica, I'll hold you in contempt," the Judge warned.

"YOU WILL NOT SAY ANOTHER WORD, CARMEN!" Angelica shrieked. The Judge motioned to the bailiffs to escort Angelica out of the courtroom. She kicked and screamed as the bailiffs calmly removed her from the courtroom.

When all was quiet, Carmen resumed her confession."I didn't do it alone. Angelica de Los Angeles...well, you know that her real name is Beverly Bellum. Sarah Bellum was her mother. I told Angelica that I'd tell her the truth about her mother's death if she'd help me get rid of Luciano and Licia. At first, we were going to posion them with that cheesecake, but the Maestro told Luciano that there was almond in it, and Licia took their son to the dentist that day." She sniffled. "So we decided to frame Licia for murder. I took a whole lot of the leaves and some of the roots from Licia's belladonna plant and extracted the poison from them. I put it in an empty bottle of almond extract so that Angelica could use it... Then I disguised myself and took one of the daggers from backstage, and bought a ticket for the front row. Angelica was only supposed to put the atropine in Luciano's wine glass, but she dumped a whole bunch of it it into the wine cask instead. I caught her and reamed her—she could have ruined our plan! If Licia had drank any of that wine..." She sighed and shook her head. "So, Luciano drank the wine during the show and reacted to the poison. He fell over and Licia ran to his side...I jumped onstage, pretending to know first aid..."

A tear rolled down Carmen's face.

"I knew Luciano was dead before I stabbed him. Still, I had to make it look real, so I pulled the trick dagger out of Luciano's chest and stabbed him with the real one I'd hidden in my sleeve. No one was watching me, so no one saw what I did. I was freaked out about stabbing his body, and I dropped the trick dagger into the orchestra pit. Then the police questioned me and they were going to fingerprint me. I panicked and gave them the wrong name and address, and then I ran backstage when they weren't looking, threw my Sarah Bellum costume into Angelica's locker, and hid in the prop loft."

Carmen grinned. "Pretty good plan, eh? At least it would have been if you hadn't figured it out."

She swallowed again and laughed sardonically. "I wonder...how many lives I've ruined...Licia's...and Ben's...Angelica's..." Her voice grew thick with emotion. "My own," she sighed.

She smiled weakly at Phoenix, then looked up at the Judge. "You can...take me away now."


	19. Epilogue

"Well," the Judge said after a brief recess."Has the defendant been released from the hospital?"

"She's on her way," Phoenix said.

The Judge nodded. "How is Ms. Ghia, Mr. Pinkerton?"

"She's...fine, I suppose. She's very calm." Pinkerton looked drained. He looked over at Phoenix and smiled weakly.

"That was...quite a trial," said the Judge.

_You're telling me, Your Honor, _Phoenix thought. He looked over at Mia.

She smiled approvingly and nodded. "I knew you could do it, Phoenix..." She slowly faded away until Pearl was standing in her place.

Pearl blinked a few times and looked up. "Mr. Nick, what happened? Did we-"

"We won," Phoenix said.

"So...who did it?"

"Carmen," Phoenix replied.

Pearl's eyes widened. Then she frowned heavily. "I wanted to like her, too."

_So did I, Pearls. So did I._

Just then, the courtroom doors swung open and two bailiffs escorted Licia in. Though she was still pale, she had regained some of her color. She was wearing a plain white nightgown, and her black hair was neatly tied back in a French braid.

She looked nervously at Phoenix, who smiled reassuringly at her.

The Judge brought down his gavel. "This court finds the defendant, Licia Puccini...not guilty."

Licia looked as though she were about to faint. "I...I..." Phoenix carefully walked to the stand.

"Come on," he said, "Let's get out of here."

_**DISTRICT COURT, DEFENDANT LOBBY NO. 2**_

Phoenix carefully walked Licia out of the courtroom. When the reached the lobby, she began to sob unontrollably on his shoulder.

"I owe you so much, Mr. Wright," she said, pausing to wipe away her tears. "You got me my life back."

"It's...fine, Ms. Puccini, it's really fine. It's just my job..." Phoenix cast a sidelong glance to Pearl, who was rolling up her sleeve and glaring at him.

_Urk, if Licia stays this clingy Pearls is going to smack me!_

"Mama!" A child's voice rang through the defendant lobby.

Licia pulled away from Phoenix. "Ben!" She crouched down and held her arms open for the small boy in a red shirt that rushed toward her.

Phoenix eyed the little boy with surprise. _In the photo, he looked more like Licia, but up close...he looks an awful lot like Pinkerton..._

"I was so scared, Mama," Ben said.

Licia pulled him to her chest and hugged him tightly.

"You don't have to worry, baby," she sighed. "Everything's okay now."

Ben pulled away from his mother. "I know."

"How did you get here, anyway...?" Licia asked.

"A scruffy policeman came and picked me up from Carmen's," Ben said. "He's the biggest man I've ever seen, even bigger than Papa! I was scared until he showed me his badge and gun!"

Licia smiled and tousled her son's black hair.

Phoenix shook his head. _That sounds like Gumshoe. "Hey, kid, wanna see my genuine badge and pistol?"_

"Hey, pals!" Gumshoe lumbered over to Phoenix and grinned. "I'm so glad this turned out okay! I was really worried about Mr. Edgeworth...and Mr. Pinkerton, too. I guess."

"How is he? Pinkerton?" Phoenix asked.

Gumshoe shrugged. "Ask him yourself, pal. He's just over there."

Phoenix looked up. Bram Pinkerton stood a few feet away from Licia and Ben. He was staring at the child with wide-eyed surprise.

Licia looked up. "Bram," she breathed.

He slowly turned his attention toward her.

"There's someone I'd like for you to meet," she said. She gently took hold of Ben's shoulders and pointed him toward Edgeworth. "Bram...this is Ben. Ben...this is Bram."

Ben looked up at his mother with an expression of suspicion. "Isn't this the bad man who said you killed Papa?"

Phoenix couldn't help but smile at the look of annoyance that crossed Pinkerton's face.

Licia only laughed and shook her head. "No, sweetie. Bram is...an old friend of mine." She smiled encouragingly at Pinkerton and motioned for him to come closer.

Pinkerton's face flushed as he looked down at Ben. "I...um...er, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ben. I...um...well, I hope we can be friends."

Ben only nodded.

Pearl gently tugged on Licia's skirt. "What will you do now, Miss Licia?"

Licia smiled and bent down so that she was eye level with Pearl. "Well...I don't know. Maybe I'll take a break from singing for a while and just travel..."

Pearl sighed. "You should take Mr. Pinkerton with you! I think you might be his special someone..."

Pinkerton's face turned redder than an old fire engine, redder even than Edgeworth's suit. "O-objection!" he stammered.

_**APRIL 7, 2027—WRIGHT ANYTHING AGENCY**_

_It's funny that I was thinking about that case while I was practicing, _Phoenix thought, looking up from the piano. _That was the last day I ever saw Pinkerton. That was the last day I ever saw Miles Edgeworth, too_. _He stopped speaking to me when I was disbarred. I can't blame him, though...as for Licia...she writes, sometimes. She called once, too, just after I lost my badge. _Phoenix sighed and looked at his piano, then out the window, and then back at the piano. _I should really practice more. I'm not making nearly enough in tips..._

He opened up the piano bench and pulled out a book of old jazz standards, which he casually flipped through. _Let's see...Scrapple for the Apple...So What...oh, Stolen Moments. I'll practice that one. _

He settled in front of the piano and began to clumsily plunk out the melody.

"Hey, Mr. Wright...the mail's here!" Apollo Justice's voice carried through the entire building.

Startled, Phoenix jumped and slammed his whole hand against the keyboard, producing a dissonant yet strangely beautiful chord.

_Urk! That kid has GOT to figure out what an inside voice is._

"Coming, Apollo," Phoenix sighed. He stood up, closed the lid on the piano, and walked out into the main part of the building.

"Mr. Wright, you have a letter from New York!" Apollo said as he thrust an envelope into Phoenix's hand. "I didn't know that you knew anybody from New York!"

_I don't, _Phoenix thought. He slowly turned over the envelope and read the return address. _Puccini...huh. That's funny, I was just thinking about that..._

He tore open the envelope and eagerly pulled out the card inside.

_Phoenix,_

_I heard you had a new apprentice. I hope you're teaching him to be as good as you! (I never could believe you forged evidence, ever, regardless of what anyone says). We're living in New York now. I sing at the Met and Ben is in private school. We'd like to come to Los Angeles and see you sometime, if that's all right. Just let us know! _

There was a phone number written below Licia's note.

Phoenix, however, was more curious about a photo that had fallen out of the card when he opened it. He gingerly picked it up from the floor and studied it. The Statue of Liberty towered in the background. A black-haired boy who was close to Trucy's age leaned casually over a railing. He smirked in that way teenagers do when they don't wish to be seen as "uncool". Licia stood slightly behind him, smiling broadly. She'd cut her long black hair into a fashionable shaggy bob, and Phoenix was surprised by how well it suited her. But what caught his attention most was the expression of pure joy on her face.

_The happiest I've ever seen her, _Phoenix thought. He looked at the photo again. _Wait. _

A man stood behind Licia, with his arms possessively wrapped around her. His head rested on Licia's shoulder. The breeze caught his brown hair and blew some of it into his handsome face. But what caught Phoenix's eye was the fact that the man was wearing a blue suit that reminded him of an old military uniform.

_I'd know that suit anywhere, _Phoenix thought. He broke into a wide smile. _Bram F. Pinkerton. I'm glad you changed the ending of Licia's story. _

_**[[il fine.]]**_


End file.
